


A Fool's Game

by Some_Rando_on_the_Bus



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst with a Happy Ending, Court Jester Spinel, F/F, Flirting, Homeworld Hierarchy (Steven Universe), Mental Instability, Personal Growth, Sad Pearl (Steven Universe), Spinel still speaks in 30s slang, for some reason, let these two be happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2020-10-29 14:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 40,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20798351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Some_Rando_on_the_Bus/pseuds/Some_Rando_on_the_Bus
Summary: The Great Diamond Authority oversees the grandest empire known to man. Their palace, while an immense symbol of strength is something else to Penelope, a prison. Stuck beneath her Empress’s shadow at all times, she is rarely able to interact with others. However, everything changes when her mistress hires a new member of the inner court.OrHow the palace servant girl and court jester fell in love





	1. When all that you know is taken

Penelope never knew where she came from, which wasn’t necessarily uncommon for a servant to the royal family of the diamond empire, or a ‘pearl,’ as was her title. However, regardless of her situation’s regularity, it was still something she thought on occasionally.

The first thing she remembered was being transported to the palace, she was unsure of her age, perhaps two or three. From what she understood, her birth parents had sold her to be trained under the Grand Empress’s pearl on how to one day serve the crown.

‘Pearls,’ as servants of the royal family had to be trained at a very young age so that they understood the complexities of their roles. Just as a pearl was created through years of shaping within a mollusc, so too was she to be shaped over years to become a perfect servant.

A couple years into Penelope’s training, the Grand Empress, or White Diamond as was her title, announced the birth of her newest daughter and fourth member of the ruling lineage. As was the custom of the royal family, she was also given a title at birth. The Empress’s other two daughters had been given the titles of Blue and Yellow Diamond respectively, as they were descended from the Empress of the Great Diamond Empire. So it was to no one's surprise that this trend continued when the Empress gave her newest daughter the title of Pink Diamond.

The empire celebrated, and among the palace staff it soon became obvious that this new Diamond would need a servant of her very own. And so Penelope, who was already in training, was set to be assigned to the princess, once she was of a proper age.

The following decade of training was anything but easy for Penelope. She was taught all of the proper edicate of a servant; how to interact with the other members of the court, how she would need to be at her mistress’s every beck and call, how she shouldn’t dare to speak unless her Diamond allowed her to, how the Diamonds were at the top of their empires social hierarchy, and most importantly that she was at the very bottom.

At the tender age of fourteen, she finally completed her training and was ready to look after her new Diamond. Just in time too, as earlier that year Pink somehow managed to slip past the palace guards and run amok in the village below. It had taken the Empress nearly a month of searching all around before Pink apparently got bored of her excursion and returned to the palace. Of course the Empress was not all that eager for a repeat of what had happened, and therefore assigned Penelope to her as soon as she could, in a clear attempt to placate her daughter-- giving her something she could exert her will over, instead of acting out against the family.

Pink, just turning ten herself, was quite the handful. Penelope had trained for years, she thought she knew what to expect, and yet once in her role, she found it to be much different than she imagined.

The youngest Diamond was an... interesting child. One who was not too keen on following the rule of her mother and older sisters. Whenever she could, she would drag Penelope away from the prying eyes of the rest of the court and ask her things she knew to be unbecoming of her role as a servant; playing pranks on each other, telling jokes, brainstorming elaborate what-if scenarios together, once her Diamond even juggled for her.

Penelope at first did not know how to react to such open displays of camaraderie, but over time she grew used to it. Pink provided her with something she never expected, a friend, and even though she knew it was dangerous, she couldn’t help but feel truly appreciated.

Pink did not want a servant as much as she wanted someone to play with, and so began the happiest time of Penelope’s life. In public, she and Pink were the model of perfection, a Diamond and her loyal Pearl, but in private they goofed off as if they were equals.

Looking back on it now, she cursed her audacity, but she supposed there was no way she could have predicted how terrible the response was to be.

On Pink’s twelfth birthday, the secret came crashing down around the both of them, when Pink’s older sisters walked in on Pink braiding Penelope’s hair.

Punishment was swift, and as expected Pink was considered hardly to blame. Of course not, she was a member of the royal family, a Diamond, after all, and as the Grand Empress always said, ‘Diamonds are perfection incarnate, flawless and ethereal.’ so of course she wouldn't be punished. No, the one who took the brunt of the retribution was Penelope herself.

She was considered to be a corrupting influence, someone who could never be allowed to live after the sin she committed-- convincing a Diamond that she deserved to be treated the same as a ‘lower life form’ was a transgression of the highest level.

At first, the plan was to execute her for her crimes. However Pink stepped in and begged her mother to reconsider, to mixed success. She argued that Penelope was only sixteen and still considered a child herself, which meant that her bad behavior must have been taught to her not an innate fault. The Empress mulled over the argument before caving to her daughter.

And before Penelope could even process what was happening, her teacher, the pearl who trained her on everything she knew about how to survive in the court of the Diamonds was sentenced to the guillotine for the crimes of mis-educating a servant. Penelope, distraught over the woman she indirectly sentenced to death, was to be locked in the dungeons until she learned her lesson.

She knew not how long she was in the dungeon as she stopped counting the days after 100, but if she had to guess it must have at least been a year. As hard as life was for her as a Pearl it was infinitesimally harder as a prisoner. The food was almost inedible, her cell always too cold-- especially in the winter, and worst of all she was alone.

Every once in a while, stuck in the empty and isolating dungeon, she would hear the sound of her teacher’s last scream before the guillotine came down on her head. The longer she stayed in the dungeon the louder and more frequent it became in her own mind, until one day it began to form words as well.

_Look what you did to me._ The voice would echo in her mind

_You are an awful and selfish child, and you deserve everything that is happening to you._

Occasionally, whenever that voice became too much to handle, she would scream. Everyday it felt like the voice, her guilt, would grow louder and more insistent, and she felt the only was to distract herself was to scream as loud as she could, hoping that someone would just put her out of her misery.

She supposed that the guards did not appreciate her cries, as they began whipping her to keep her quiet. These whipping grew so common that despite the Grand Empress’s insistence that she should bare no scars where people could see, eventually one of the guard’s hands slipped and accidentally struck her face.

She ended up losing that eye, and the guard who whipped her ended up losing his hand-- not that she bore him any pity.

She never screamed after that, never protested about her food, never complained about the cold. She just sat in her cell quietly, allowing the voice, to continue to accuse her of something she was convinced was now her fault. In hindsight, she realized that it must have been her complete acquiescence that convinced the Grand Empress to let her out, as once she stopped bothering to even eat, she was released.

Adjusting to being outside of her cell was challenging, but she knew what the results of failure were-- so she hid her tears, she hid her tremors, only allowing them to shine through when she was alone. Soon she resumed her duties as a Pearl, with the caveat that if she acted up one more time, nothing would be able to protect her.

Of course she wasn’t assigned to Pink any longer, it seemed in her absence that Pink had received a new servant. A younger girl, closer in age to her the Diamond. Penelope had only managed to catch passing glimpses of this new servant-- not that she particularly wanted to interact with her, as she was sure it wouldn’t go well for either of them. From what she could tell, this new Pearl was doing a good job keeping things completely professional with her Diamond, and that was all Penelope could wish for, that no one would not make the same mistake she had. Eventually, she purposely tried to avoid both Pink and her replacement Pearl.

Pink never reached out to her, she had clearly moved on, and so Penelope learned to do the same.

The next discussed option was to give her to one of Pink’s elder sisters, but that quickly fell through as both of the elder princesses still had their Pearls, and as Yellow had said, they had ‘no need for one as hideous as she.’ Penelope held her tongue whenever the Diamonds spoke to her that way. The scars that marred her face were large angry things that she knew she had to cover it up. She understood that she would never be as appealing to the elite as she once was, a symbol of her crime forever marking her.

That left only one other member of the royal family for her to serve, so she was assigned to the last person that she would ever want to be-- The Grand Empress herself. When Penelope first received her new assignment, it took everything in her power to not curl up into a ball and wish for death. It seemed that the leader of the Diamond Empire wanted to keep a close eye on her, and what better way of doing so than by ensuring that they would spend a lot of time together.

Originally, after Penelope was assigned to the Empress, she found herself angry at everything and everyone. She wanted to act out desperately, consequences be damned. But soon, that changed as well.

The more she spent time with her mistress, the more frequently helpless she felt.

White Diamond was terrifying, she would condemn, arrest and execute others on whims. A powerful warrior that despite her age had proven time and time again that she could still hold her own against even the strongest of warriors in her court.

Being in her presence triggered a very specific sort of fear. The fear of what horrific consequences any one minor action might have. It was that fear that kept Penelope doing nothing except answering commands in the Empress’s presence-- trying to be as perfect as possible to avoid potentially catastrophic reactions.

After being subjected to that on the near regular, Penelope began to notice even a change in her thoughts. No longer was her inner voice that of her old teacher, castigating her for her mistakes. No, now it sounded more like White Diamond-- chastising her for any actions she made that could lead to her downfall.

Soon even when she wasn’t in the other woman’s direct presence, she would still hear her, still feel the ever looming threat of her mistress. It was like all she could do was float around the palace retracing her steps and words endlessly, as if she were a living haunting.

The Grand Empress spent most of her time locked away in her study, only emerging to make kingdom wide announcements or to oversee a public executions. Which meant that outside of assisting her mistress with her nightly baths, Penelope was hardly ever completely alone with her Diamond. Even more bizarre, whenever the Grand Empress’s presence was requested for anything other than an execution, Penelope would attend in her stead, receiving a small briefing a day or two before by White about what she would be doing and what she was allowed to say on her behalf.

Sitting on the empress’s throne and speaking her words for her, as if she was of any importance herself, was something that the servant had never gotten used to, no matter how many times she had done so. She supposed, in a strange way, her inner voice shifting to White’s at least helped her maintain authority over the court when representing her, as she could so clearly imagine what her mistress would say to any given event. But it also made her much less engaged in anything that happened, as anytime she even thought of having pity on someone in the court, she was tormented by the voice warning her of the potential consequences of disobedience. Eventually court proceedings all became as predictable as they were brutal.

She welcomed new staff to the palace, represented her mistress during grand balls and parties for the elite, knighted great warriors on occasion, and eventually even dictated the Grand Empress’s verdicts for those who committed crimes.

Despite her status as a Pearl, she was soon as feared by the rest of the royal court as White Diamond herself. This in turn isolated her further from any and all people whom she would previously converse with when she was just Pink’s Pearl. Now not even Blue, or Yellow’s Pearl would dare speak to her, and everytime she met Pink’s eyes, the younger woman would turn away from her in shame.

She wondered if this was part of the Grand Empress’s plan to keep her alone, to keep her scared-- if that was true, then it was most certainly working.

She grew used to the hushed whispers of those she walked by, the trepidation in their eyes, the way others would clear from her path in fear that angering her would result in the wrath of the Empress herself. And so she stopped fighting it and let that mask consume her. The Empress wanted her to be a terrifying figure who would patrol the halls of her court, making everyone else fearful for their lives-- so that’s what she became.

Elegant and phantasmal, she learned to dress the part-- cloaking herself in her isolation, she allowed all of the color to be drained from her until she were nothing more than a ghost of someone long since gone from the world. It was lonely for certain, but anything was better than the dungeon, at least now she could eat food that wasn’t half rotten.

It was six years into this purgatory, six years of the same monotonous tragedy that defined her life, when her mistress said something that somehow surprised her more than it scared her.

The two of them were in the Grand Empress’s luxurious bathing room. Penelope was lathering her mistress’s long blindingly white hair with sweet smelling oils, when the leader of the empire spoke to her.

“Penelope dear, we will be having a new member of the inner court presented during Pink’s twentieth birthday. I expect you to attend and greet her graciously.”

Penelope felt her fingers, still massaging the elder woman’s scalp, slow to a halt. What? This… this was uncalled for, she had never introduced a new member of the court during a party, especially one as large as a royal family member’s birthday as that would take the spotlight away from the Diamonds.

Whoever this new court member was, they must be real special.

Curiosity and excitement began to bubble up inside of her, before that voice, White’s voice, echoed through her mind informing her that she best not display those emotions.

Regaining her bearings, she quickly resumed her duty and answered, “Of course my Diamond,” she bit her bottom lip before pressing further. She was curious as to what made this new court member special, but she doubted she could ask her mistress directly, so instead she added. “is there anything you would like me to say to her?”

Her Diamond sighed before waving her hand dismissively. “She will be a present for Pink, one that I acquired for her specifically-- she will know when to come in herself. The trumpeteers will introduce her when the time comes, and you needn’t do anything except look amused and happy for my daughter. Should this new court member interact with you, just play along. Understand?”

“Of course my Diamond.” she repeated.

That really didn’t answer her question, but she knew from her mistress’s tone that further inquiry was not going to be tolerated, so instead she just finished with her oil massage and waited to be dismissed.

Questions about this new court member filled her mind for the rest of the week, but she put those thoughts aside in the face of her duties, she knew better than most what allowing one’s emotions to take president over one’s work led to, and she was not about to repeat that mistake. So she carried about her job as flawlessly as ever with only a hint of that excitement lingering in her mind.

The day of the party came quicker than Penelope had imagined.

She had woken up before the sun rose that morning to make sure everything was in order for the princess’s celebration. It seemed that both Yellow and Blue Diamond had other things to attend to and only planned to make an appearance during the banquet later in the day. Pink was with her new Pearl still trying on various dresses to see what would be absolutely perfect for her during her entrance. That left Penelope as the only authority for the first half of the day, welcoming all of the nobles who came from afar with offerings to the princess.

Considering the princess herself was now in her second decade and of age to marry, a variety of noblemen and even princes from other kingdoms arrived in an attempt to woo the young Diamond to be their bride. Not that their efforts were going to go anywhere, as Penelope knew that the Grand Empress would never allow her daughter to be convinced by such men.

As all the guests filed in, Penelope scanned to crowd in a failed attempt to find this new court member, much to her dissatisfaction.

Not long after, trumpets played loudly over the entrance and all of the nobles stopped their chatter to turn their attention over to the double doors.

The trumpet players lowered their instruments and spoke in unison.

“Now announcing her grace, the lovely Pink Diamond.”

The crowd began to clap as the doors were opened and Pink strolled onto the floor, her Pearl in tow.

Penelope could see why Pink had taken so long to get ready as the dress she was wearing was quite extravagant. A large layered white ball gown adorned with what looked to be roses woven into the straps and her hair. The dress clinging to her body in all of the right, or perhaps wrong ways and was ever so scandalous cut into a star shaped pattern at her midsection, showing off her navel for all to see.

Penelope had to resist calling out, oh she knew that her mistress would not approve of her daughter dressing so revealingly. But she also knew that her mistress would disapprove of her more if she made a scene and brought attention to it. So instead she bit her tongue and hoped that Pink would not be punished too harshly for her choice later.

The crowd bowed as the Diamond made her way towards her throne to the right of Penelope, once she sat everyone rose from their kneel in applause.

Now that the birthday girl was here, Penelope called out to the crowd that the gift giving could commence.

All of the party gowers lined up to present the princess with their gifts. They ranged from elegant clothing to expensive looking pieces of jewelry. Every once in a while, a handsome man would gift his hand in marriage, but after Pink laughed the third one out of the party, Penelope noticed some of the young men she previously greeted quietly removing themselves from the line.

It took hours for all of the gifts to be given, Pink’s servant accepting them on her behalf, with only a couple particularly stylish pieces catching Pink’s eye enough for her to reach for them directly.

Once the line was all but gone, Penelope prepared herself to announce the transition to the banquet part of the celebration, but before she could, the trumpeteers raised their voice in unions again prompting everyone to look their way.

“And now for the final gift, from none other then Her Majesty the Empress.” They called together before opening the double doors once more for another figure.

The figure entered, took one exaggerated bow directed at Pink before looking back at the trumpeteers, who nodded at her and lifted their instruments to play.

The figure began to bounce up in down in tempo with the music, swaying her arms back in forth in what looked to be a comedic dance.

The trumpets played louder and the figure opened her mouth and began to sing.

A voice, sweet and carefree, but with a strange tinge of almost manic laughter filled the room. This figure continued to dance, her movements matching her song as she nearly bounced off of every wall with unprecedented energy in a whirlwind performance. Stopping at nearly every guest of note to sing a verse dedicated to them, or to tell a joke she seemed to expect them to answer. Soon the entire ballroom filled with the sound of laughter as this woman cartwheeled her way over to Pink

The other party guests, and members of the court rejoiced at the addition of this woman-- all of those she passed smiling like there was no tomorrow.

Penelope looked to her side at Pink who had stars flashing in her eyes as she looked to be resisting bouncing up and down herself along with this new woman.

Looking back up she saw that this woman was much closer, and now that she was no longer on the opposite end of the room or crowded around by other members of the court, Penelope could finally get a good look at her.

She was a lanky woman, her arms and legs seeming to bend in almost unnatural ways to suit her performance. Flexible and athletic, this new figure, despite her thinness, seemed to have quite a compact muscle structure, probably a result of her near constant flips and complicated dance routines.

She was dressed in what Penelope recognized to be a jester’s outfit. Series of pinks, purples, whites, and blacks decorated her costume, embellished with bells which jingled along with every step she took. Her breaches were exaggeratedly too big, tapered at the ends to cling to her, each pant legs decorated with a different pattern and color-- pink diamonds for one leg and black stripes for the other. Her torso was covered with a tight black fabric with what looked to be an upside down heart in the center of her breast. Her eyes were outlined with smudged charcoal, three thick black lines trailed down her cheeks and into a large purple painted grin which garnishing her lips, seemingly stuck in an endless smile. Purple face paint was also traced on her upper eyelids, and framed her brows. A two pronged hat was nestled tightly along her hairline giving the impression of two ponytails on either side of her head.

Most strikingly were her eyes, dark magenta-- Penelope didn't even know people could even have eyes of that specific shade and intensity. The way they swirled was almost maddening, if they were on anyone else’s face Penelope might have even consider them to be threatening, but homsehow on this clown they seemed, well, fitting. There was something so unhinged about the fool’s performance captured perfectly in her spiral eyes. But regardless of how the servant felt about all of this, the rest of the court seemed to be enjoying the routine immensely.

Especially Pink, who soon began clapping along with the jingling of the court jester’s bells. Laughing at her various antics.

Well… when the Grand Empress informed her they would be having a new court member, she hardly expected it to be a fool.

After she had been taken from Pink, the Empress must have understood on some level that her daughter was lonely and eager to joke around with someone. And so she began to hire fools to entertain her. However after what happened to the last court jester, Penelope wasn't sure if they would ever be able to fill that position again. But looking down at Pink enjoying her present, she supposed it made sense. Pink had wanted to replace the last jester almost immediately after her execution, it was only a matter of time that someone desperate enough would come along and be willing to fill that role.

The jester, now only a couple feet from Pink, belted out the final lyrics of her song, trumpets cheering alongside her until she ended in a bow.

Pink was the first to applaud, standing up from her throne and giggling like she were once again a little girl. The rest of the court joined in not soon after as the people lopped praise after praise at the new fool.

The jester however, remained still in her bow until the applause died down and Pink returned to her seat.

Bending back upwards in a motion so smooth Penelope almost did a double take. The joker, still wide in a smile, opened her eyes to look directly at the birthday girl.

“Thank you all for yer attention. But let's give it up for the princess, she’s the real sweet patootie here!” the jester announced, much to the rip-roaring laughter of the princess as well as the rest of the court.

Penelope, on the other hand, was stunned into a near silence as she observed the jester casually break every rule there was with engaging with one of the Diamonds-- addressing Pink so casually and without prompting. Of course she knew that was to be expected from a fool, they were almost required to break rules for the sake of entertainment, but it had just been a couple years since they last had a joker, and Penelope was out of practice having one in her court.

No one else seemed to be having that problem as they all engaged with the new jester, none more so than the princess herself, who seemed to be so taken with her present.

Closing her eye, Penelope leaned back into her throne and mused at this turn of events. A new fool, huh? She wondered briefly how long this jester would last, and hoped that this one would get to leave with her head still attached to her body.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the clown.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?”

Opening her eye she was almost thrown back by how close this court jester was to her, moving from standing in front of Pink’s throne, to standing right before Penelope.

The servant was now face to face with this new court member, those swirling magenta eyes seeming to peer directly through her.

She was stunned, thinking back on it now, she wasn't sure when the last time some outside of the Empress even spoke to her that casually. Not even the previous court jester ever dared to approach her, probably discouraged by the rest of the staff before their first meeting.

Oh,

She realized,

This was the fool’s introduction to the court, none of the other staff would have had a chance to warn her before hand. She must not know any of the rumors about her.

“Well, you’re sitting on the center throne, so that’ll make you White Diamond right?” The fool continued with a joke, obviously trying to elicit a response. “I can certainly say I didn’t expect the Grand Empress to be such a looker! You are positively glowing toots.”

Penelope could feel her mouth fall open agape. Her eye quickly scanned the crowd to see them all observing the scene with morbid curiosity. A couple of them seemed to be holding back laughter, but none of them dared to show it, probably afraid that she would call for their heads if they did.

Pink, on the other hand had no issue hiding her reaction as she let out a loud snort followed by a series of giggles. “Ahaha,” she laughed, “Ahahaha, she thinks you’re mom? Haha.” Her Pearl next to her brought a hand to her mouth to resist a laugh as well, and soon the whole room was in an uproar once more.

Even once the room was filled with laughter, the fool continued to stand in her place. Those impossible eyes still focused purely on Penelope herself, as if she were expecting an answer, as if she were expecting a laugh.

Penelope frowned, she was not about to give this clown what she wanted. A laugh? She was the Empress’s Pearl, she was supposed to be above things such as laughter, no matter how she personally felt. “I am not the Empress, I am nothing but her mouthpiece. I speak for her in her absence.”

The jester lifted a painted eyebrow exaggeratedly before asking in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, “What? Is she just too good to be here herself? Too good for all of these fine people?”

Pink laughed even harder, turning to her Pearl and announcing that it was so true that her mom totally thought she was too good for everyone else.

Penelope, suffice to say, was absolutely mortified. These words… they were dangerous if spoken by anyone else, and yet here was this jester, speaking them like they were no big deal, as if she were not so casually playing with all of their lives.

She bit her bottom lip and tried to will away her fears that she would be punished for this. She hadn't done anything wrong, it was the fool who brought this up, not her.

Closing her eye once more she tried to focus, searching her mind desperately for some way to get out of this situation.

_Should this new court member interact with you, just play along, _White Diamonds voice echoed to her.

Right... her diamond hired this fool herself, surely she knew what her routines would be. All the servant needed to do was play along and everything would be alright.

Opening her eye and turning her attention back to the fool in her face, she narrowed her gaze and spoke.

“Perhaps, or perhaps your entrance was what was lacking. Surely the Empress herself wouldn’t make time in her busy schedule for any old two bit fool.”

The crowd gasped at her response, and the jester’s smile widened further, her eyes sparkling with exaggerated deviltry. It only took one look at this woman for Penelope to realize that this joker was absolutely loving this back and forth.

The court jester dramatically brought her hand to her head and twirled around to face the crowd once more.

“Oh woe is me,” she mourned in such an obviously fake display of dejection, “What is a poor fool to do when her pride is broken so viciously.” the clown added, the ending of her sentence melting into a series of chuckles.

The crowd once again grew into an uproar. This time with various members of the court calling to the fool to not take it personally, that the Empress’s Pearl was like that with everyone.

Continuing her faux lament, the jester clutched the fabric upside down heart which was sewn into her outfit and in a dramatic display exclaimed. “You’ve broken my poor, sweet, sensitive heart. How am I ever supposed to recover?”

Catching onto this game very quickly Penelope had to resist laughing, for she already understood that was the reaction the clown was trying to get out of her. This fool wanted her to laugh-- before it was something less specifically directed, the joker was just trying to do her job and make everyone in the court laugh. But now? Well, now the fool was focused intently on her, a challenge swirling in that magenta gaze of hers. It was a game, and if Penelope laughed she’d lose, the rules where simple and the Pearl couldn’t help but feel anticipation rising in her throat. It had been so long since she had been allowed the opportunity to joke around, to play a game with stakes other than death-- and she was not about to lose. She allowed a small smile to grace her features.

“You keep talking like that and a broken heart is the last thing you’ll have to worry about,” Penelope spoke, keeping her voice clear and commanding as she did whenever giving orders, but also with just enough twinge of levity that she hoped the jester would pick up on.

The fool's head immediately snapped back to her, that large painted grin as wide as ever-- it looked like she got the joke, it looked like she accepted the challenge. “Whacha gonna do sweetheart? Lock me up?” she asked.

And once Penelope allowed her small grin to laze into something more smug, the crowd gasped, now so invested in the comedic melodrama that was taking place before their eyes.

Pulling another fake sad face the fool once more turned to the crowd and replied, “Oh no folks, it looks like my time with y’all was much shorter than I imagined, but I suppose the dungeon needs a clown.” she laughed before moving back toward the glistening white throne on which Penelope sat, kneeling and offering her hands up as if to be shackled.

“But I suppose if anyone were to chain me to a wall, I’d want it to be you doll.” she proclaimed with a wink.

Laughter filled the room as quickly as redness rose in Penelope’s cheeks. The clown was going there now? Well, she was not going to allow herself to lose this game that easily. Pushing down her blush, she let out an exaggerated sigh before saying, “I’m sure you’d like that, unfortunately like the Empress herself, I feel spending anymore time with you would be nothing but a waste for me.”

It was the jester herself who first laughed at this, throwing her head back in a shrill chuckle before vowing to the crowd that she would one day be worthy of the Empress’s Pearl’s attention.

The crowd chided her, telling her that was never going to happen and calling for her to come back to them. Before Penelope could say anything else, the clown listened to them and descended back down the steps to the open ballroom making her way through the crowd; joking, laughing, dancing, and cartwheeling all the way.

Penelope on the other hand just observed, as this wild absolutely bonkers woman charmed her way across the court.

The servant leaned back against her chair, resisting a smile she silently repeated the jester’s declaration to herself over and over again.

Oh how she looked forward to seeing more of this new court member.

The next couple of hours passed in a flash as the jester, a seeming endless bundle of energy, bounced from person to person. Pink, as the center of attention decided that she was bored of sitting and pulled her Pearl with her onto the ballroom floor so she could further interact with her new fool. Another hour flew by before the clown bowed to the crowd in preparation to dismiss herself.

“It was a true pleasure to make yer acquaintance,” she called to the crowd, before focusing her eyes back on Penelope. “And don’t think I forgot about you miss high and mighty. I’ll get you to laugh eventually!”

And it took everything in Penelope power to not call back to her that she couldn't wait for her to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp I've fallen for this paring pretty hard. They grew on me so quickly that I just had to write something.
> 
> I have quite a few ideas of where this could go, so if you liked it and want to see more, let me know and I will provide.
> 
> And of course, if you have the time and inclination please leave a comment, It is always nice to hear from people and it means the world to me :)


	2. When all you can do is hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope continues to try and get close to the new joker, and soon a fast friendship develops between the two of them. Nothing is going to stop the servant from gaining a confidant-- not White, not her own insecurities, not even the darkness she sometimes sees in the clown's eyes.

The rest of Pink’s celebration passed as expected. The other Diamonds, sans the Empress herself, made at least a brief appearance and Pink was in a wonderful mood throughout the party.

Penelope knew that it was in no small part because of the magenta eyed fool, and to be completely honest with herself it wasn’t like she blamed the birthday girl for that, as she too was charmed by the woman.

Once the event drew to an end, Penelope was one of the first to exit the ballroom, her feet drawing her closer to her target before her mind could even catch up. She knew this was potentially dangerous, she knew the punishment for disobedience all too well, but after years of being unable to connect with anyone around her, she was desperate to not squander this chance.

Eventually, after wandering the halls she found what she was looking for-- one of the trumpet players from the party.

He straightened up and saluted once he noticed her, his eyes wide and terrified as if she were here to tell him that his performance was unsatisfactory.

Instead she only asked him a question.

“The fool, the one you introduced. Where are her quarters?” she stated, letting an authoritarian tone lace her words.

The trumpeteer wasted no time giving her exact directions to where the jester was currently set up, even offering to escort her there. She, of course, just waved him off, reassuring him that she was completely capable of finding it on her own.

The man sheepishly apologized, before saluting her again and excusing himself from the conversation.

Not wasting another second, she followed the instructions she was given, her goal so solidified in her mind that it was only once she was right in front of the chamber door, that she stopped and really thought about her next course of action.

What was she going to say? In her hurry to chase this woman, she didn’t even think about that.

Resolve faltering for a fraction of a second, she lowered her fist from the door, and looked back down the hallways she traversed. She briefly considering leaving, before movement on the other side of the door immediately brought her attention back to it.

Holding her breath slightly, she saw the door slowly opened to reveal just the woman she was looking for.

For a millisecond, the clown did not seem to realize that there was someone standing in front of her door-- and for that brief moment, Penelope caught a glimpse of something she knew she wasn’t meant to see.

The jester looked tired, still in her previous outfit from the party-- her makeup smeared from sweat, her clothes untidied from dancing. But it was the expression on her face which really drew Penelope’s interest.

For the entire party, the clown had been incredibly expressive, alternating between clearly exaggerated joy and faux sadness. But here, in this moment, there was something deeply somber about the way her lips were pressed together; Eyebrows knit in what looked to be a combination of fatigue and distress, and her eyes, those spiraling magenta eyes, no longer looked playful, but instead empty. The swirls seemed endless, giving Penelope the impression that she could just fall into them.

However this expression did not last-- just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, replaced by the fool’s patented smile.

The shift was so jarring and sudden it made Penelope question if she had even seen any other expression to begin with.

The jester laughed before leaning against her door frame.

“Hiya doll,” she purred, her smile growing wider, “What brings you all the way over to my abode? Aren’tcha supposed to be overseeing a party? Don’t tell me you got bored without me~”

If Penelope wasn’t so used to keeping her own emotions locked under key, then perhaps she would have stuttered, perhaps she would have blushed. But she knew how this jester spoke, she came mentally prepared.

She couldn’t give away that she was here just so she could learn more about the one person who actually spoke to her like a human being. Best to play it cool and assess the joker’s reactions before revealing anything that could potentially put her in danger.

Raising an eyebrow she steadied her voice and spoke, “The celebration has reached its natural conclusion, I am here to introduce myself formally to you, I need to make certain that every member of the court knows who I am.” she recited before taking a slight bow. “I am the Pearl of the Grand Empress, I oversee the Diamond Court when she is occupied with more important matters.”

The jester hummed and hawed at the introduction before tilting her head in confusion, “You said you were gonna introduce yourself and yetcha never gave me yer name.” she mused, looking at the other woman expectantly.

The pearl narrowed her eye before responding, “Asking for my name directly would be considered disrespectful If I had not already given it freely. You certainly don’t know much about proper etiquette do you?” she huffed.

The clown laughed, “Of course not, I am the fool aren't I?”

“Well… I suppose you have a point,” Pausing for a moment she reached her hand out and said, “Penelope, if you must know.”

Her hand was almost immediately taken by the other woman who shook it vigorously. “Well hello there lovely, I’m Spinel.”

“Spinel… like the stone?”

“Uhuh.”

“That can’t be your real name.”

The joker laughed still shaking her hand. “Well, ya got me. It’s my stage name, every good fool has one. Thought since this palace is already filled with Diamonds and Pearls, might as well stick with the theme.” She chuckled at her own joke before saying. “I gotta appeal to my audience, I’m sure you understand Penny.”

Penny?

Penelope blinked at the pet name. It had been a long time since someone had given her a nickname, not since… White’s old Pearl, her teacher.

With an alarming swiftness she pulled her hand away from the clown’s grip, recoiling almost as if she were burned.

The fool...or Spinel as she just introduced herself, froze as well-- something quick and dark flashed behind her eyes, and Penelope found herself regretting her reaction immediately as it looked like she had truly offended the jester. However before the Pearl could do any damage control that cheery smiling mask was back on the fool’s face. Taking a step backwards into her room, she regarded the Pearl with a nod.

“Gee, I didn’t mean to make ya uncomfortable. That's fine, I…” she paused before sighing, all of her bravado seeming to drain from her posture. “I’m sorry.”

What? Penelope couldn't believe it, she was the one who messed up by reacting so badly to a simple nickname, and Spinel was trying to apologize like it was her fault? Looking the clown up and down, it was suddenly very hard for the Pearl to comprehend that this strangely meek reaction was coming from someone who had previously only loud and bombastic.

Not receiving a response, Spinel’s eyes lowered to the floor, whispering another apology before making an attempt to close the door.

Quickly realizing she needed to do something so the other woman would not get the wrong idea, Penelope quickly called out.

“Wait!” she exclaimed, surprising both Spinel and herself with her reaction, “I mean, I should be the one to be sorry. You just… surprised me is all.”

With a half closed door still between them the jester offered another smile, this one a small and fragile thing, filled with more vulnerability than the Pearl initially believed the fool to be capable of.

“Hey, it’s alright. I get it, I won’t call ya that no more.”

Penelope bit her lower lip, quickly darting her head around to make sure that no one else was listening in on their conversation before whispering, “I… I don’t mind, just… it’d be best for you to only refer to me as such when we are in private.”

The clown froze before her gaze trailed up and down at the figure in front of her-- her smile melted into something much more coquettish.

“While we’re in private eh?” she began, eyes glittering with barely concealed excitement, “I’ll make sure to keep that in mind, but for now you probably got other things to take care of, so I’ll leave ya to it.” She ended with a giggle before closing the door.

Penelope could only nod as the door shut, her face burning a very prominent pink as she took some time to collect her thoughts.

Was the clown just… flirting with her?

She shook her head banishing those presumptions, of course not. Spinel was just joking around with her, the same as when they were at Pink’s party-- that was her job.

Sighing to herself, she straightened her back and traversed back to her own quarters. the jokker was right, she did have other things she still needed to attend to, and daydreaming about something that could never happen was not going to help her with her tasks at all. No matter how charming this clown could be.

The following few months were quite busy for her, the Empress announced that she would be taking an extended trip to a neighboring kingdom that they had been at war with to discuss the terms of the other nation’s surrender. She made it clear to her court that she expected to be gone for at least four months and that her two eldest daughters would take on her armies in the meantime with Penelope representing her in her meetings.

It was always a mixed bag when the Empress went away. On one hand, it meant that the Pearl had much more work to do everyday and usually ended the night exhausted. However it also meant that she had more freedom to do what she wanted without her having to be at her mistress’s every beck and call.

Normally there wasn't much she wanted to do, but with the sudden appearance of a very eccentric court jester, she found herself spending a lot of her down time with Spinel

At first it was awkward, after the ending of their last interaction Penelope was a bit hesitant to reach out. Luckily for her, every time the jester spotted her walking down the palace halls, she would quickly catch up to her, tell a joke, and offer to escort her to wherever she needed to go.

Curious as to why the clown kept following her around, on the fourth time it happened she asked. “Spinel, why do you walk with me?”

“Sure, I’m nothing but a fool,” the joker replied while pulling a funny face, “But I ain’t an idiot. Being the clown means people are always looking for you, its exhausting, and I’m not as energetic as I used to be... But whenever I’m with you, everyone else stops bothering me. I think they're scared of you toots.”

“And you're not?” she responded quizzically, “Surely you’ve heard what they say about me by now?”

The jester laughed and replied, “From what they say about you darling, if you wanted me gone, I'd've already have been executed.”

Maybe it was because of the sheer anomaly their interaction had been up until this point, or maybe it was because Spinel’s response was just so lackadaisical in the face of potential danger, but whatever the reason, Penelope laughed as well-- actually laughed. Which of course led to Spinel smiling wider than she ever had before-- cheering that she had finally done it, finally cracked the unbreakable Pearl.

Later, after they had parted, Penelope realized that was the first time she had laughed in years.

And so the days flowed together, Penelope beginning to seek out Spinel as much as the clown would look for her.

They would steal moments where they could, always under the pretense of the clown escorting her to where she needed to go. Of course if anyone actually paid attention to the two women they would notice that whenever the jester would walk with the Pearl they would slow down their pace immensely, almost as if they were trying to extend the amount of time it took for Penelope to get wherever she was going.

But of course no one bothered to pay much attention, and for once in her life, Penelope as actually happy that the other members of the court refused to interact with her. It meant that none of them would scrutinize her time with Spinel too closely.

After a couple weeks of this, the two of them quickly fell into a routine, and Penelope even found herself looking forward to the quiet moments where she wasn’t overwhelmed with work, and she could just walk alongside her friend and chat.

Friend...

That was a word that Penelope never thought would enter her vocabulary again. But the more time she spent with the other woman, the more and more sure that's what she was, a friend.

She of course didn’t have the guts to ask Spinel that specifically, nor was she in any rush to.  
No point in putting her relationship with Spinel in danger just to know for sure. Instead Penelope kept her mouth shut about the nature of their interactions and instead tried to enjoy the other woman’s presence while she still had the opportunity. For there was always a chance this fool wouldn't last either.

Spinel of course spent most of her time in the main hall entertaining the court, but whenever Pink Diamond emerged, the clown would instead follow her around.

Penelope supposed that made sense, the jester was hired specifically to entertain the youngest Diamond, so it was within her role to focus so intently on her. But there was something about the desperation in the clown’s eyes wherever she was in the same room as Pink that rubbed Penelope the wrong way, and considering she wasn't too keen on being near Pink either, the Pearl decided to just avoid the both of them when they were together.

That of course didn’t mean that Spinel wouldn’t talk about Pink when they were together.

“Why won’t Pink let me into her room?” the joker asked in a huff one day while escorting the Pearl to her next appointment.

Penelope shrugged, “Security is pretty tight around the Diamonds. The last fool worked for nearly a year and a half before she was allowed to entertain Pink in private. I wouldn’t take it too personally... they are just trying to make sure you aren’t planning on.” she paused for dramatic tension before directing her gaze entirely at the clown “assassinating her.” She ended the sentence with a sternness reminiscent of how she addressed the court earlier that morning.

Spinel stopped in her tracks, eyes widened as they scanned over Penelope, for a brief second panic darted behind her eyes.

The Pearl stopped as well, her mind running a mile a minute as she internally panicked. She was trying her best to tell a joke, as she thought the joker would appreciate it, but now she wondered if that was a mistake. It wasn’t her intention to scare the jester! She was obviously rusty when it came to levity, and seeing Spinel’s sudden reaction caused her to worry that she might have accidentally given the fool the idea she was actually accusing her of plots against the Diamonds.

She was about to open her mouth to apologize when another figure entered the room they were in.

Both women turned their attention to the guard who had just entered. Penelope, realizing it was just a sentry turned her back on the new figure to indicate that all was fine.

They remained in silence for about a minute before Spinel turned to her and grinned

“Ah, so you have jokes, you never cease to surprise me Penny.”

Penelope’s eye widened as she quickly scanned their premises, making sure the guard wasn’t still there, much to her relief, she realized they were alone. Letting out a sigh she rejoiced that no one heard the clown refer to her so casually.

Spinel, seeming to understand the Pearl’s panic quickly replied.

“Don’t worry doll, I made sure no one was listening. But if you’d like, I can still rephrase that.” Exaggeratedly clearing her throat, she straightened her shoulders, put one foot in front of her making a slight curtsy, her voice taking on an overly professional tone. “Pearl of the lustrous Grand Empress, if I may, I would like to praise you for your clever jest. I apologize for underestimating your clearly spectacular witticisms. I will certainly be out of the job the second the court realizes your obvious superiority.”

Penelope laughed, and before she even realized what she was doing, she reached out to lay a hand on Spinel’s shoulder and said.

“Oh my lovely fool, there would be no way they could ever replace you, you’re one of a kind, and the best jester I think we’ve ever had.”

This time it was the clown who flushed at their contact, her cheeks turning an embarrassed red, leaning into the other woman’s touch, she replied, words accompanied with a wistful sigh.

“Aww shucks sweetheart, ya really know how to charm a girl.”

The two of them laughed some more before hearing another person walking down the hallway towards them. Quickly realizing they were about to have company again, they quieted down and continued their walk.

Perhaps it was Penelope initiating touch for the first time, or perhaps it was her attempting to tell a joke, but after their last conversation Spinel starting displaying much more physical affection towards her. Caresses of her hand, the interlocking of their arms, and even once drawing her into a embrace.

At first, the Pearl did not know what to do with all of these new displays of affection, but as they grew more frequent she found herself leaning into those quick touches more and more. It was perfect, being able to be so close to another human being again.

Weeks passed as if they were only a matter of days. With Spinel keeping her company, Penelope found the days much less tedious and painful, now, no matter how awful her day was, she always had something to look forward to. Time with the joker was everything she could have asked for-- and the longer they spent together, the more brazen they became.

Instead of just escorting the servant to and from her meetings, the jester started having meals with her-- seeking her out in the middle of the day so they could eat together.

A couple times, Spinel even dragged her into one of the smaller kitchens, so that they could make some food together.

Of course Penelope was cautious at this, being in the kitchen was not even close to her assigned role and she worried that deviating so far from her duties would put them both in hot water. But Spinel did her best to soothe those fears. The clown explained that sometimes she needed access to the kitchen to make food, mostly pies, for her routines, and because of that she was basically gifted one of the extra kitchens that no other staff would use. It would be very unlikely for anyone else to walk in. And if someone did, they would just say that Penelope was overseeing the jester’s work, which she technically was.

However even with the jester’s reassurance, Penelope would sometimes leave their cooking encounters halfway through, or when she was particularly worried cancel their meetups entirely.

Despite how the fool made her feel, there was always White’s voice in the back of her mind, warning her that this was wrong. In Spinel’s company the voice was not as loud, but when it rang in the Pearl’s head, it was impossible to ignore. Nevertheless, no matter how many times Penelope canceled, Spinel was always patient and accommodating with her, always waiting for the servant to express the desire to return before suggesting they try again.

But regardless of her anxiety surrounding the activity, the Pearl absolutely loved cooking with the clown when her mind was quiet enough. Penelope didn't even know the basics of cooking-- she was trained to be a Pearl not a cook, so every little thing her jester showed her amazed her to no end. The food they made together was wonderful, and even though the palace hired only the best cooks in the land, Penelope could have sworn that she had never eaten anything so delicious in her life.

It was so fun to follow Spinel into the kitchen that she never bothered to ask how someone who dedicated their life to being a clown became so good at cooking.

A month into their new kitchen activities, the Pearl began to feel less and less apprehensive of their activities and started to shift her schedule around to make more time for their cooking. This of course, was not something she could keep doing when her diamond returned, but considering the Empress was due to be back any day now, Penelope figured she might as well make use of this time while she still had it.

After her morning meetings, she would walk over to the entrance of the ballroom and wait for her friend before the two of them made their way to the kitchen. The ballroom was hardly ever used outside of celebrations, so it was an easy place to meet where they were almost guaranteed that there would be no prying eyes.

However one day Penelope made her way over to their meet up spot only to find no Spinel, she waited nearly half an hour before she realized that the jester was not coming. Frowning, she wondered if the other woman got held up somewhere else.

She pondered what to do for a split second before deciding that since the clown was busy elsewhere then maybe she should surprise her. She had learned quite a lot in the past few weeks about cooking, and she was confident she could make something at least edible for her friend. Of course that would mean that Penelope would have to go into the kitchen by herself, but considering in all her time with Spinel she never noticed someone else even look at that smaller kitchen, she wasn't worried.

Suffice to say she was in a good mood while entering the kitchen, such a good mood in fact that she almost didn’t notice that the room was already occupied.

Opening the door, she came face to face with none other than… Spinel?

The joker looked back at her with equal bewilderment, as if she was not expecting her either.

“What are you doing here?” They both asked at the same time.

Penelope giggled at their synchronicity, expecting the clown to do the same. However the other woman did not laugh, she didn’t even smile, instead she looked at the Pearl with mild panic.

It was then that the servant noticed the dirtied pots and dishes in the kitchen, as well as a bowl of batter, culminating in a small, but incredibly decorative pastry that was laid out in front of the jester. Its flaky exterior a strange pinkish tone-- a color that the Pearl didn’t think she had ever seen on a pastry before.

She looked back up at Spinel, who quickly picked up the pastry and brought it into her hands, as if this were something that Penelope was not supposed to see.

“Uh..” the clown began, “Hiya Penny, I… wasn’t expecting ya… didja not get my note?”

“Note?”

“Yeah, uhh, I wasn't able to make it today so I wrote you a note and put it on the desk in your room.”

Penelope thought on that, she had quite a lot of paperwork on her desk which she hadn't touched since last night, she must have missed it. Looking over the clown she wondered what she was busy with, it seems she just spent this time making a treat.

“I’m sorry Spinel, I must have missed it,” she smiled apologetically.

The clown stared at her incredulously, her mouth dramatically hanging open. “Wait,” Spinel spoke, her voice coming out a pitch slightly higher than usual. “...Were ya waiting for me?”

Penelope nodded, “Yes, I’m sorry for--”

But before she could finish her apology, the other woman let the pastry fall out of her hands and onto the counter in front of her.

“You were waiting for me.” Spinel repeated as if in a trance, “You were waiting for me and I wasn’t coming.”

Penelope frowned, she didn’t the pained hitches in the other woman’s voice. Calmly, she began to walk towards her friend to comfort her, but before she could reach her, the clown turned to her and in a desperate broken plea said.

“I can’t believe I did that to you… to you Penny! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to, I--”

Penelope drew her into a hug, interrupting the clown’s words.

“It’s okay Spinel, you have nothing to apologize for, it was just a simple misunderstanding.”

The fool froze, before melting into the Pearl’s arms.

The moment was brief, but the Pearl enjoyed the warmth while she had it. Pulling away she smiled and said. “I hope It’s alright that I’m here now. What are you working on?”

Both stared at the pink pastry in front of the clown.

“It… was for Pink,” The joker replied cautiously, as if she were hesitant to admit it.

“Oh Spinel, that is so sweet of you, I’m sure she’d love it. But I’m afraid to tell you that the Diamonds only eat foods prepared by the head chef, and taste tested by a Pearl.” Penelope explained apologetically.

The clown visibly deflated, eyes falling to the floor, shoulders slouched as she let out a disappointed sigh. “Oh, well shucks, I didn’t know that.”

The servant offered a sympathetic smile. It must have been disappointing for the clown, it looked like she worked long and hard on the treat only for it not to be eaten. Perhaps they could eat it together, of course she was hardly equivalent to a Diamond, but at least that would be something.

“But hey, it looks amazing, maybe we can cut it in half and share it, no use letting it go to waste, right?”

The joker’s reaction was definitely not what she expected, picking up the pastry before the other woman could even get close to it, and held the treat closer to her with a strange sort of protective motion.

The Pearl looked at her with alarm, wondering if she did something wrong. However quickly the clown grew a tad more relaxed and explained, “I mean… you don’t want this one… it… it fell on the counter, we can make a better one together.

Penelope tilted her head curiously at that reaction, but she didn’t press. No matter how weird her response, it’s not like she was obligated to tell the servant what was going on.

Regardless, she figured that the clown was just disappointed that she couldn’t give her gift and just didn’t want to deal with it. Nodding she replied. “Sure, I have some time now and it looks like you have some extra batter.” She offered gesturing over to the batter that was most probably used to make the pastry if its equally pink tinge was anything to go off of. “You want to work with that?”

“I… uhh.” the clown took one look over to the batter before saying. “Actually I just remembered that I have another performance coming up, so… maybe some other time?”

“Yeah of course, let me help you clean up.” She announced, rolling up her sleaves and making her way towards the dirty platters and basin of water. However, before she could reach them she was stopped by the clown gently grabbing her arm.

“No, no, its ok Penny, I know you gotta lot of work to do. I can take care of it here.” the jester insisted, lightly pushing the other woman towards the door.

Penelope allowed herself to be escorted out of the kitchen, before the door was shut behind her.

Certainly more than a little confused, she wondered why Spinel was acting so strange. Figuring that she would just ask her later, she listened to her friend and began to walk back to her room, the clown was right, she did have quite a lot of paperwork to catch up on, so she figured that she might as well go start on that.

She only managed to make it halfway there before she was stopped by a pair of guards, who informed her that the Grand Empress had just returned and was requesting her presence.

Penelope, was of course a bit shocked, as she had thought that White Diamond was still miles away. Nodding to the guards, she quickly made her way to the royal quarters. This wasn’t the first time White had left her completely in the dark as to when she would return from a trip, so it was not completely uncalled for, but the Pearl just wished that sometimes she would be let in the know about these things so she could prepare.

She only had to knock twice on her Diamond’s door before she heard a familiar voice call out to her that it was unlocked

She entered the room to spot her Empress lounging on one of her many couches, appearing quite exhausted from her travels.

Penelope saluted to her mistress before walking into the room, waiting for further command.

The Empress turned to face her, expression unreadable as she said.

“The guards told me that in my absence you have been spending quite some time with the fool, is that true?”

Penelope could feel her blood turn to ice inside of her, struggling to keep her face indecipherable she needed to come up with an excuse quickly, she nodded and said.

“Yes my Diamond, the fool has proven to require many lessons in palace etiquette, which I have been providing.”

“That is not something that is within your usual duties.” The Empress stated, the vast pools of her eyes scanning over her servant with a sharp precision.

The Pearl stood her ground. As terrified as she was, she was not about to lose something else, someone else.

Finally her Diamond sighed and said, “I suppose I should leave it to my Pearl to go above and beyond the call of duty. Just be sure that you keep your interactions strictly professional, we don’t want a repeat of what happened last time do we?”

“No, my Diamond.”

“Of course not. Now onto the reason I called you here--”

The Empress proceeded to let Penelope know that the other kingdom’s surrender negotiations went very well, and as of today they officially added another kingdom to their empire.

The Pearl congratulated her mistress on her skills in both battle and political talks before asking her if she needed anything special for the occasion.

White Diamond proceeded to tell her that yes, they would be hosting a ball to commemorate this momentous day. And that she wanted it to be ready in less than a month. This of course would mean that they would both have a lot of work to do, so it would be best if they got started immediately.

With that, the servant was given a list of tasks that needed to be completed, and was dismissed.

And so Penelope got to work-- informing the rest of the staff, inviting the guests, and even assisting preparing the speeches.

With all this extra work, she soon found her free-time dwindling to almost nothing, and unfortunately with that went her get togethers with Spinel.

The jester of course, as Penelope knew by now, was not one to give up, so she tried her best to accommodate the Pearl’s new schedule-- unfortunately, to little success.

After nearly a week of only seeing each other in passing, Penelope decided that she was going to make time. Shaving off a few minutes here and there from her schedule, she managed to set aside thirty whole minutes of free time.

Rushing out of a meeting, she made her way over to where she knew Spinel would just be done performing.

When the two saw each other, Penelope did a quick scan of the room, making sure everyone else had left before running towards the other woman and bringing her into a hug.

“Wowie,” the jester laughed at the sudden contact, “What did I ever do to deserve this?”

“I missed you,” the Pearl admitted, words slightly muffled as her face buried into the other’s shoulder.

Spinel laughed again before bringing her arms around the woman, returning her embrace.

“Yeah… I missed you too.”

Pulling away from the other woman, Penelope smiled, wide and bright. She was so happy that she finally had time for her friend.

Regaining her bearings, she opened her mouth to speak, to tell the jester all about her crazy few weeks, but before she could, she noticed Spinel straighten her posture and focus in on something behind her.

Turning around, she saw a couple guards just rounding the corner. They scanned the room before focusing on her. Saluting quickly, they informed the servant that they required her assistance.

Penelope tried her best to not let her disappointment show on her face as she nodded to them and said she’d be right there.

Turning back to Spinel, she threw her a look which she hoped conveyed just how sorry she was about all of this.

The clown grimaced and nodded, waving her off understandably.

They both knew that Penelope couldn’t decline such a direct order, and yet all the same the Pearl felt awful.

Especially considering the last thing she saw before turning and leaving was such a look of resigned melancholy coming from the clown. Penelope felt her heart break, every so slightly at that expression, the fool looked at her as if she expected her to never return, as if this were going to be the last time they saw each other. Her swirling eyes, wild with a subdued mania made the pearl want to tell the guards to find someone else to help them, consequences be damned.

Instead the servant did what she knew she had to do, she turned away from her friend and followed the sentrys.

The guards’ request ended up being something of very little importance, something they could have asked any Pearl for, which definitely did not help Penelope’s building disappointment.

Trapped between meetings for the rest of the day, and a mountain of paperwork for the rest of the night, the Pearl retired to her chambers early to get started on her documentation.

She sat at her desk, quill in hand, drafting up some documentation that need to be completed by the end of the week. This was the third time in a row that she had stayed up to ungodly hours of the night to get her work done-- and she most definitely looked it. Dark bags clung under her eyes, her nightgown crumpled from repeated use without wash, and her hair, usually braided so carefully was such a frazzled mess that she didn’t even want to try and deal with.

She was so wrapped up in her work that when three soft knocks echoed from her the other side of her door, she nearly jumped. Thinking it might be news from her Diamond, she took a quick moment to attempt to straighten out her dress and hair before standing up, unlocking her door, and quickly swinging it open.

It took her a minute to recognize the figure on the other side.

The woman’s olive skin was clean of the charcoal outline or three running lines on either side of her face-- she wasn’t wearing her magenta face paint either. Her long black hair fell down loosely along her shoulders, no longer held up by her pink jester’s hat. Her torso was covered in a very tattered brown tunic, her feet completely bare on the stone floor.

“...Spinel?” Penelope asked in disbelief, it suddenly hit her that in all the time she spent with the clown, she had never seen the other woman without her costume or her face paint. She looked so different, it was hard to believe she was even the same person. She was about to ask what the fool was doing here, when she noticed the slight redness of her nose, and the water gathering in the corners of her eyes. It looked like she had been crying.

“Heya Penny,” the fool smiled sadly, “Sorry to bother ya so late, I just--”

But before the clown could even finished her statement, Penelope grabbed her and pulled her inside her quarters, with all the guards patrolling around, she didn’t want any of them to see the clown outside of her room. This was highly unprecedented, a fool intruding on the Empress’s Pearl in the middle of the night, if anyone saw this then they would both be in big trouble, but Penelope was not about to send her friend away when she so clearly distressed.

They just needed to be careful.

Shutting the door quickly, she turned back to her guest, who’s eyes were on the floor, posture slouched, she looked skittish, like any sudden movement would scare her off.

“Spinel?” she asked, “Did something happen?”

The clown looked back at her startled, before her eyes glued themselves back to the stone floor, she shook her head a couple times. “No… I’m sorry… I’m not sure why I’m here… I just…” she trailed off, hands gripping tightly at her arms in a motion which looked like it might have hurt.

Penelope was unsure of what to do, moved over to her cot, gesturing for the other woman to follow her. Like all Pearls, her quarters were small, only containing a cot for her to sleep on and a desk for her to work at..

She sat down on the edge of her bed and patted the spot next to her so that her visitor knew she could sit as well. This was looking like it might be a long conversation and she wasn’t about to make Spinel stand on the cold floor for the entirety of it.

The joker froze at this motion, eyeing the servant up and down with a level of scrutiny rarely seen on the clown’s face. Those magenta eyes so keenly focused on her, fear and uncertainty dancing between them with a fervor reminiscent of the jester’s routines when she performed for the court. She looked like she wanted to sit, wanted to yell and scream and cry about something, but instead she stood completely still, all of the words she clearly wanted to say trapped in her throat.

Sometimes Penelope felt like it as very easy to read the joker. She was energetic, mischievous, and always ready to entertain-- but every once in awhile she’d get a peek at something else. The Pearl had caught glimpses of it on occasion, but never in this much detail-- usually it would be fleeting, quick to happen, but equal parts quick to vanish once more. However, now that the other woman was here, completely overtaken by that same thing Penelope was only vaguely aware of, the Pearl wanted to make her friend aware that she was here for her.

“It’s alright,” She reassured the other, pausing for a second. She figured that this must have been about their previous interaction, the look she had seen in the clown’s eyes, as if Penelope was going to abandon her. Steeling herself, she knew that she needed to make it clear to the other woman that she was not going to leave. “Take your time, I’m not going anywhere.”

The fool stared at her incredulously, as if she had just promised her the whole world.

The tears that followed were not pretty-- they were large and messy, Spinel sniffled bringing her hands to her face in an attempt to chase them away. And before Penelope could even say anything else, she was rushed by the other woman, who had all but just ran into her arms, almost knocking the other woman fully onto her cot.

“You… you aren’t gonna leave? You promise?”

Penelope closed her eye, and brought one of her hands to the other woman’s hair, running her fingers through the slightly tangled knots with a gentle motion.

“I promise.”

The clown continued to cry, burying her face in the Pearl’s shoulder, arms fastened tightly around her.

Even after Penelope’s nightgown was drenched in tears, she still held on.

Neither of them knew how long they stayed in each other's arms, but after maybe a few minutes... a few hours? Spinel shifted slightly, allowing her forehead to rest along the servant’s collarbone.

“Gee, I made a real mess of this huh?” She chuckled, her laughter catching in her throat crackling at the edges.

Penelope just held her tighter and said, “No, you haven’t made a mess of anything, don’t you dare tell yourself otherwise.” She paused wondering how to phrase her next question. “Do you want to talk about it.”

Spinel just shook her head softly, finally pulling away from the other woman, her face contorted in a forced smile. “Nah, it’s alright. I… I just had a bad day, culminating in a bad night… full of bad dreams. It’s nothing important, just me being silly. I mean what kind of grown woman still has nightmares that make her cry?” She joked, coercing herself into another laugh.

Penelope frowned, not particularly keen on the self deprecation, replied, “I mean, I still sometimes have nightmares that bad, I don’t think it’s anything to be ashamed of.”

The clown’s face shifted into slight shock, before settling back into a smile-- this one, actually reaching her magenta eyes.

“You’re amazing Penny, you know that, right?” she cheered planting both of her hands on the servant’s shoulders. “The very best, if I had my way, you’d be the one in charge of the empire, you’d be wayyy better than White Diamond, I mean, you do all her work anyways right?”

Penelope’s eye widened as she resisted the urge to pull away from the jester. Looking over the smiling face of the clown, she understood that she was probably over exaggerating for the sake of a joke.

But…

That statement was… well it was treasonous. Not that treasonous comments were unheard of coming from the clown, but normally they came about from her routines as a way of making the court laugh.

But now? Well they were alone, the fool was not performing, she wasn't even in costume, there was no justification for her words.

The Pearl’s hands clenched in her lap as she closed her eye and tried to not react negatively. Spinel seemed to be recovering, now was not the time to confront her on this, no matter how it made Penelope feel.

The clown, seeming unaware of how her words had affected the other woman, chuckled, her usually endearing laugh now sounding harsher on the servant’s ears.

Penelope focused on her breathing,

there was no need to freak out,

Spinel needed her right now,

she couldn't be preoccupied with other things.

And yet that small voice in the back of her head, White’s voice, would not leave her alone.

_The fool is not careful enough with her words, if she said that to anyone else out of costume they’d report it. She’d be killed, and you’d be alone again._

Trying her best to vanish the voice she looked up at the clown talking up a storm in front of her, and tried her best to pay attention. However, she soon realized that she couldn't hear her over the sound of her own thoughts.

_She’s going to drag you down with her. You are already in too deep, sneaking around with her, letting her into your room--Like an imbecile you let someone with such vocal anti-diamond sentiments get close to you. You’ll both be found out for sure, and when you are no one will have mercy._

Her lips began to tremble as she could feel her whole body rack with fear.

Spinel must have finally noticed something was wrong, because she removed her hands, a look of concern flashing upon her face.

“Penny?”

“Penny?!”

“Penelope?”

Finally the servant was brought back to the present, the jester calling her name several times. She forced her trembling to stop.

“I--” She began, trying to find the words to tell the other woman that she was alright, but still caught up in her own panic, she couldn’t locate them.

“Did I do something wrong?” The joker asked, her voice much smaller than it was previously.

“No,” Penelope quickly stated, “I just….”

When it became obvious she wasn't going to finish her statement, Spinel jumped back in and said. “Hey, it’s alright, look, let's focus on something else. Now that I’m here why don’t we have a sleepover? It’ll be fun, we can tell each other stories, play games, oh, we can even do each other's hair. How about I rebraid yours for ya?”

Penelope froze, all of the remaining color draining from her face.

Braiding each other hair

...Braiding hair

Her face came crashing down into the palms of her hands, her shoulders shaking with barely contained dread.

And all of a sudden she was back in that moment, the one that changed her life for the worst.

...Pink braiding her hair,

...them getting caught,

...her time in the dungeon,

...the whip to her face.

“NO!” She protested before she could contain herself.

The shrill cry of her decent reverberated through her room with such volume she wondered if everyone else in the castle heard it too. Looking up quickly, she saw Spinel, her precious fool looking upon her with such guilt, as if she had just thrown boiling water into the servant’s face.

The clown tried to reach out to her, but stopped herself, quickly turning away, back faced to Penelope so that all she could see was the other woman’s shoulders shaking with the same fervor hers had been just a moment ago. “I’m sorry,” the jester nearly whispered. “I… I can see ya need yer space, I’ll leave.”

And with that the clown made motions to exit the room.

No, no, no, no… Penelope couldn't let this happen, she couldn’t chase away the only person she had. Reaching out to the joker, just as the other woman put her hand on the doorknob, the Pearl called

“Wait! Spinel, don’t leave. I didn’t mean--”

But before she could continue her sentence, the fool interrupted her. “Penelope, you don’t haveta put up with me; I get it, I understand.”

And without any further explanation as to what that could have meant, Spinel opened up the door and left.

Penelope so desperately wanted to run after the jester, wanted to ask her to stay, to apologize, but instead she brought her knees up chest and hugged them, tears falling freely from her face.

She messed up, she made the only other person who would even talk to her run away, how could she even think she’d be able to repair this?

Weeping into her knees, she almost missed the harsh sound of knocking on her door before it was kicked in.

Turning to look at the crash, she saw three guards entering her room, weapons drawn they looked to be on high alert.

Frozen she, for a moment, thought they had come to take her back to the dungeons, to execute her for the crimes of sneaking around with the fool.

However, instead, the highest ranking of the three guards approached her and said, “We heard screaming, are you alright, did you see something?”

“No…” the Pearl quickly corrected, “I was… It was just… a bad dream.”

The center guard, a very large woman, her orange hair coming down nearly to her calves, sighed before gesturing for the other two to leave. She nodded at the servant before replying.

“Alright… if you need anything else, we will position a guard outside your room. Stay safe.”

With a guard stationed outside of her room, and her relationship with Spinel on the fritz, Penelope had a difficult time sleeping that night.

The following week was harrowing; for the first time since the two of them started spending time together, Penny didn’t see Spinel at all. Not when she left her meetings, not during meals, not even when she herself went looking for the clown.

After a few more days of nothing, and work continuing to pile up in preparation for the celebration, Penelope reasoned that she should just focus on getting through the party. After all this work died down, she would attempt to rekindle her relationship with Spinel.

Everything would be fine, she reassured herself, maybe it was for the best that they had some time to clear their heads and think through both their feelings.

in this moment all she could do was hope for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty here we are with chapter two, sorry about the length ,I just had so many ideas for this chapter, I promise I won't bog ya'll down with another chapter this long in the future, haha.
> 
> Anyways thank you all for all of your kind works, the comments everyone left for the last chapter really made me smile-- thank you, thank you, thank you.
> 
> I'm thinking this fic will be four chapters in total, at least that's my plan for now.
> 
> Please if you have the time and inclination leave me a comment below and tell me what you thought about the chapter, they mean a lot to me :)


	3. When all that you are is crumbling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the celebration arrives and Penelope is confronted with something which shatters her world, everything quickly spirals into pure pandemonium,

Before Penelope even realized it, the day of the celebration had arrived. Unlike Pink’s party this gathering was much smaller, as it was only for those of the inner court-- servants, head military officials, chamberlains, chancellors, heralds, even the Diamonds themselves were present.

Penelope was right at her Diamond’s side when they both entered, as the last Diamond to arrive everyone else in the party stopped what they were doing to salute.

The Pearl, walked with her mistress, head held high. When the two of them reached the center throne, instead of sitting in it, as the servant had done in the months prior, she instead stood next to the seat, overseeing the rest of the party.

She scanned the crowd, as the entire court was present it was to be expected that the court fool would be here was well. She tried not to be too disappointed when she realized that Spinel did not seem to be here.

While it was certainly strange that the jester was missing, the servant just chalked it up to her wanting to make a grand entrance. The clown always did have a flair for the dramatic

Now that White Diamond had arrived, the celebrations began in full. Many knights were receiving promotions for their service in the war. The chefs kept bringing in loads and loads of dishes to the buffet table of which most of the court indulged in. Yellow and Blue Diamond where making rounds around the ballroom, personally thanking particularly famous warriors. White and Pink on the other hand stayed in their thrones and waited for people to approach them.

Side eyeing Pink, the Pearl noted that she did not look particularly pleased at being stuck in her throne. This was their usual formation during the celebrations that all four Diamonds attended. The Empress seemed to trust her two oldest daughters to mingle, but kept her youngest by her side at all times, probably as an attempt to keep her out of trouble.

Arms crossed, slouched in her chair, Pink looked anything but excited to be here. Loudly sighing she tapped her foot on the ground before saying

“Ughh, this party is awful. Where’s the wine? And where is my fool!?” she complained.

White turned her head over to her daughter with a swiftness to retort, “Behave yourself starlight. This is an important occasion, the wine and joker will be out soon, but we first need to discuss business. Now sit up straight and stop complaining or I will send you to your chambers for the night.”

Pink let out a small groan as she corrected her posture with exaggerated begrudgement.

While Pink did not seem too happy at her mother’s words, Penelope was over the moon, it looked like Spinel was in fact going to be a part of the celebration-- she was going to get to see her jester again. It had been a good while since she had observed a performance from the other woman and although things had been rocky between them lately, the Pearl was excited to see one of her routines.

Of course with White by her side, she would need to make extra sure that she didn’t appear too enthused.

So she held her emotions close to her chest and patiently waited to see her friend once more.

A couple more hours into the party, Pink was as agitated as ever and there was still no sign of the Spinel. Eventually the Empress, also seeming to wonder where the joker was, turned to Penelope and said.

“I suppose you were right about the jester truly not understanding proper etiquette. Penelope, would you be a dear and find the fool, she obviously needs to be educated about the importance of punctuality.”

The Pearl nodded and saluted to her mistress. As proper and polite as those words were, the servant knew the danger that lurked behind them. Spinel would be in big trouble if she failed to show and Penelope was not about to let that happen.

Quickly dismissing herself she crossed the ballroom floor, exited the room, and began her search for the jester.

She knocked on the clown’s room only to find no answer.

She checked multiple larger rooms in the castle that the fool would frequent when practicing routines, to no avail.

She even checked the clown’s personal kitchen only to find nothing.

Panic began to fill her as she realized that she might not in fact actually find Spinel. Slight tremors started to form before she pushed them down, if the clown failed to show then White would surely call for punishment.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Penelope knew that she would not let that happen. She was not about to let her friend get thrown in the dungeons, not while she was still around. Steeling herself, she committed to searching the entire palace if she needed to.

Luckily for her that was a much easier feat than normal, considering almost all the staff were at the celebration. Empty halls and room were much easier to search. After a couple rounds around the palace, the Pearl realized that the fool was in none for her usual stomping grounds, so she began to search in more and more obscure places.

The stables, the training rooms, even the palace gardens, only to find absolutely nothing. Penelope took a moment to contemplate where else she could possibly check. Spinel wouldn't have just disappeared… at least she didn’t think that she would have without any word. Their relationship may have been on the fritz, but if there was one thing that the fool always made a priority, it was to be around Pink Diamond-- so there was no way she’d give up such a big opportunity to see her. Surely the clown would have known that her Diamond wanted her at the celebration.

Pink, when banned from mingling with the other guest, frequently wanted two things, wine to soothe her and her fool to entertain her.

And that is when the servant realized that there was one place she had not even though of checking yet--- the wine cellar.

Of course it made sense in hindsight, perhaps Spinel was looking to make her grand entrance with the wine-- that certainly sounded like something she might try.

Quickly hurrying down several flights of stairs, The Pearl made haste in moving towards her target.

The wine cellar was actually right underneath the largest ballroom, which of course made sense. When the Diamonds were hosting a celebration as important as the one they were currently hosting, they would want the barrels to be close enough to be easily accessible.

Deciding not to go through the ballroom entrance to the cellar, as to not disturb the party, Penelope took the long way around. She maneuvered through the castle with a frequency unmatched by almost any other staff member, which meant that she knew all of the best ways of traversing the premises.

And although she had not been in the wine cellar for a long time, as Pearls were not allowed to drink, she still knew all of the ways to get into it. If she were not wanting to draw attention to herself, the best way would be to come from the floor access door, from the smaller storage space below the cellar.

She had to resist laughing as she crawled into the small space, If Spinel was in fact here then she would like to surprise her-- perhaps attempting to make the clown laugh would help break the tension she knew was still between them.

Ever-so-quietly, as to not ruin the surprise, she pushed the door open and peeked her head out from the floor. Scanning the room she saw several barrels which were in the process of being aged. Turning towards the wine barrels she knew to be on the riper side she spotted an extremely large barrel, nearly twice the size of any other.

Well that was certainly the wine they were going to bring out for the party, if the size was any indication. Quietly she began to creep out from the access door in preparation to search the area.

However, just as she was attempting to pull herself on the level she noticed someone moving around the barrel. Pausing, she let a small smirk appear on her face as Spinel came into view.

Mentally cheering, she was so happy she actually managed to find the other woman, she was about to jump out and surprise her when something else caught her eye.

A slight glint from the other woman’s hand drew her attention, as she noticed that the fool was holding onto a small vial of something. In the dim light of the cellar, Penelope couldn't exactly make it out, but from what she could see, it was tinged with a pinkish color.

Tilting her head in confusing she observed as the fool walked over to the largest barrel, shimmying up the side of it, she opened the lid, which easily came off in her grip.

It looked like the barrel had already been opened, probably taste tested by a servant before the party. Was Spinel trying to sneak a drink?

But instead of filling up a flask for herself the joker uncorked her strange vial and poured the contents into the barrel.

Penelope’s eye widened, unable to properly process the scene in front of her, she quickly ducked back into the floor access door, closing it behind her with a softness as to not alert the fool.

Sitting down in the storage unit below, she brought her hands to her head and tried to rationalize what she had seen anyway she could.

Spinel was pouring some unknown liquid into the wine… the wine that was going to the party… the wine that the court was going to drink.

Hands gripped her hair with a tightness which almost undid her buns. This... it couldn't be what she thought... right? There was no way that her clown would hurt anyone.

No!

Of course not!

Spinel was a kind and caring soul and Penelope knew that, there must have been another explanation… maybe she was trying to flavor the wine. make it less bitter-- she was an excellent cook

That was it! Spinel had proven that she was quite the chef, she must just be trying to improve the wine.

Letting herself have a sigh of relief, the Pearl knew what her next move was going to be. Crawling out of the subterrain storage unit, she dusted off her clothes and swiftly relocated over to the clown’s personal kitchen.

Spinel was just trying to be helpful, that had to be the answer, and Penelope was going to prove that to herself.

Once she arrived in the kitchen, she wasted no time searching the premises. If there was a special concoction that Spinel had made to improve the wine, she would have had to have made it here. The servant didn’t bother making her search look discreet, instead she just focused on trying to find her answer as quickly as possible.

She opened drawers, searched through cabinets, looked inside the many wood fire ovens, and even peeked under the tables and cauldrons.

It was then, when checking under one of the tables, that she noticed something, one of the stones looked to be pried loose and carefully placed back on the ground as if to disguise that fact.

Reaching for the stone, she found it came loose very easily leading to a small open space. Kneeling down completely she crawled underneath the table to get a better look.

There were three things nestled into the ground beneath the stone. Each more trouble then the last.

The first was a small pink bonnet with a series of small blue flowers sewn into the crown. Penelope recognized them immediately as forget me nots. The hat was small, clearly meant to fit a child, there was no way that Spinel would be able to wear it, but she had to be the one who brought it, how else would it have gotten here? What was most interesting about it however was its make. The pattern work was incredibly intricate and the fabric expensive. This was not something that any common person could afford.

Putting the hat aside, she reached into the dark space only to pull her hand away quickly when she felt it get pricked by something sharp. Jerking her hand back she noticed that whatever she touched had drawn a bit of blood. Sticking her finger in her mouth for a second to calm the pain, she more gently reached with her other hand, pawing around the sharp area to find what felt to be a hilt of something.

Gripping it tightly she pulled the object it was attached to out from beneath the floor and nearly gasped at the sight.

It was a weapon, a curved sickle, and not one of palace make. A weapon such as this one would have had to have been smuggled in, as according to palace law, no weapons other than the ones specifically made and designated to sentry staff, were allowed on the premises.

Dropping the weapon to the ground with a light clatter. Penelope stared at the offending object as if the cut it had inflicted upon her was much more severe. She wanted to run, to alert a guard of what she had found. But before she could even consider doing so, she found herself reaching back to see if there was anything else under the stone.

She found one more thing-- and it was exactly what she was looking for.

Her hand closed around a small glass object. Bring it up into her line of sight she found another vial containing that thick pink liquid, and as much as she didn’t want to believe it, when she turned it around, she found a small warning sigil carved into the cork in the vial.

The same kind that you would find to label poison.

Penelope’s mind was going a mile a minute as she desperately tried to control her panicked breathing.

This pink substance was poison-- Spinel was trying to poison the party.

“But…” she found herself whispering out loud, “why?”

Why would the clown, her glorious, sweet, fun-loving friend, want to try and poison everyone? Looking back at the poison, she watched it’s hue swirl with a familiarity that she couldn’t exactly put her finger on.

It was then that she remembered the last time she was in this kitchen. When she had walked in on Spinel making a pastry for Pink-- a pastry with the same pinkish tint.

The hand that was not currently gripping the vial with a force that could nearly shatter it, was brought to the Pearl’s mouth in horror.

This wasn't a random act of violence, the joker was specifically targeting Pink, and she was willing to indiscriminately kill the entire court to do so.

Jumping back up to her feet, she knew what she needed to do. Turning to the exit of the kitchen she ran as fast as she could, back to the celebration.

Her legs throbbed in protest as she forced them to move faster. Her breath labored, but she pushed through, hand never ceasing to clutch the offending vial.

Once she spotted the double doors leading to the ballroom she ran full speed into them, causing them to slam open with such a force that the noise drew the attention of the whole court.

The crowd started at her as if she had another head, while the Diamonds all looked upon her with open disgust at her entrance. Both Pink and Yellow sneered, the scene causing them to lower their chalices, which were still filled with newly poured wine. Quickly Penelope scanned the crowd looking for the fool.

The clown wasn’t hard to find-- Spinel looked back at her with concern from the opposite end of the room, it appeared as if she were in the middle of a dance before the Pearl came barreling through the door

Their eyes met before that magenta gaze followed her hand upwards, starting in horror at the glass vial she was holding up.

“STOP!” Penelope cried. “DON’T DRINK THE WINE! IT’S POISONED!”

A court gasped. Most of the members with cups of the liquid quickly set down their glasses, while others dramatically spat out mouthfuls of wine.

Yellow and Pink Diamond looked down at their chalices before turning their attention over to White, who was still sitting in her throne-- an extremely rare display of shock flashed brightly upon her face.

Soon the rest of the court was looking upon White as well, awaiting next steps from their Empress.

Of course, all except for Spinel, who was still staring at Penelope’s hand, eyes wide, body language clearly panicked as she kept peering towards the closest exit to her. A split second later when White was still formulating a response, she bolted, running for the door.

The Empress’s eyes widened as she seemed to realize what was going on and yelled for her guards to stop the fool.

The ensuing chaos caused many in the party flee in terror.

The clown was blocked off from the exit almost immediately, all of the military offers of the court moving to surround her. But the jester did not look like she was going to go down easily, struggling against her pursuers, she struck the first guard to reach her with her fist, hitting him right in the jaw, causing him to stumble back a few feet.

Reaching into an inner pocket of her oversized trousers she pulled out a weapon.

A sickle to be precise, and Penelope didn’t even need to be close to her to know it was of the same make as the one she found in the kitchen.

The Pearl was stunned at the scene unfolding before her, and yet for some reason she couldn't look away.

Now that many members of the court where surrounding the clown, everyone else was running and screaming out of the hall.

Blue Diamond turned her attention to the members of her guards, calling for someone to go and get her physicians to help with those who had already ingested some of the wine.

Yellow Diamond was yelling for order to be maintained, attempting to keep the court members from trampling each other as they fled.

Pink Diamond seem enraptured by these events, it appeared as if she were going to take a step towards the action, before Yellow grabbed her by the back of her collar and directed her to evacuate with everyone else.

White Diamond stood her ground, stationary in front of her throne as she narrowed her gaze at the clown.

And the clown herself… well her proficiency with her hidden weapon was strikingly better than Penelope had anticipated. She swung her blade at the oncoming forces with a fluidity only matched by her dances and routines. Refusing to stay still for even a second she used the ballroom to her advantage, flipping around the wine barrels, tables, and chairs-- dodging incoming attacks and blows as if they were nothing. Her flexibility, unpredictable movements, and eye for precision now directed at an entirely new kind of performance.

She slashed at the guards, causing more than a few injuries. Soon those who were wounded retreated and more took their place.

This continued for another minute before one of the guards actually managed to gain hold on the jester-- reaching out to grab her by her arm.

The joker struggled against this guard who ordered her to stay still as he held her arm in place, preventing her from swinging down upon him.

Instead of obeying, Spinel threw her head back in what started out a yell, but eventually shifted into chuckles and then full blown laughter.

The guard confused at the reaction was not prepared for the joker jumping into the air and bringing down both her feet directly into his gut.

Gasping he relinquished her from his grip as she nearly landed on top of him.

Still laughing with a mania which sent chills down Penope’s back, the clown, who’s weapon hand was now free, struck this guard right in his shoulder-- blade digging deeply into his skin.

Crying out in pain, he called for help from his fellow sentries, and although they were racing to try and stop the next blow, Penelop knew they were too far away to reach him before the fool reacted.

And the jester knew this, her laughter hitching slightly, smile so wide it looked like it was nearly going to split her face, before bringing her weapon down towards the guard’s throat.

In that second before the metal met its target, Penelope could feel those chills that racked her body solidify into something much more pained and desperate. Her clown was going to kill someone right in front of her and all because she didn’t stop the fool earlier when she first saw the woman in the wine cellar. She needed absolute proof of the clown’s wrongdoings before acting despite all the proof which was already in front of her. She failed to stop her in time, and now-- now the servant was going to pay by seeing someone die because of her actions, again.

With all of those emotions filling her at once, she was surprised to find her body already running directly towards the clown.

“SPINEL!” she screamed as her mind finally caught up.

The clown’s laughter abruptly drew to a close just as her blade stopped millimeters before the guard's face. Her head snapped towards the Pearl-- giving the servant an unencumbered view of the other woman’s eyes.

Those sweet magenta eyes, the ones that she initially thought to be impossible, the ones that she had seen almost every day for months, the ones which brought her so much joy and comfort, the ones she had grown to love.

They were gone, and in their place was a spiraling mess-- they were panicked, dangerous and completely unhinged, as if belonging to an animal. They twisted with a foul zeal, as if the owner of them could care less for anything except the bloody prize beneath her.

Penelope nearly trip at the sight, coming to a stop as quickly as she could, her single eye widened in terror, jaw trembling as she took a step back from the vicious scene.

The clown, observing the servant's clear terror, froze. It was as if whatever spell was casted over the fool vanished when she observed Penelope back away. Her eyes snapped back to something more familiar, as she stepped off the sobbing man beneath her and very hesitantly reached for the Pearl.

It was then that she was tackled by three guards who Penelope assumed had taken the clowns moment of distraction to sneak up behind her.

Spinel cried out with a sound which seemed to continue to reverberate inside the Pearl’s mind, as the guards forced the weapon out of the joker’s hands and held her still.

The servant just stood there, unable to turn away from the scene as she watched her fool, her precious friend, bound at the wrist by shackles.

Penelope felt numb, like all of the fear, anxiety, confusion, and betrayal of the event had vanished all at once, leaving her with nothing but a profound and sinking sense of futility.

She didn’t even react when she felt a hand softly laid upon her shoulder.

“Your loyalty to the court and assistance with the apprehension of this… vulgarian is much appreciated.” White Diamond’s voice called from behind her before walking till they were shoulder to shoulder. The Empress then directed her attention to the guards. “Lock her in the dungeons, and post a guard outside of her cell. We will make arrangements for an execution first thing in the morning.”

The guards who did not have their hands full with containing the clown saluted before returning their attention to the matter at hand.

And with that White turned away and began to walk out of the ballroom, but not before turning briefly to Penelope and saying, “Come, there is much we need to discuss.”

“Yes my Diamond,” the Pearl responded, words leaving her on command, eyes still forward, looking at the restrained joker.

Spinel was staring back at her as well, no words were exchanged between them, and instead they just shared a brief moment, a reprieve from the chaos from earlier. The fool was no longer struggling against the guards, instead she had gone limp in their grasps. The desperation in her eyes calmed into a deep forlorned despair.

Penelope took in her gaze, one so similar to the one the jester had given her when they had last separated, the one that spoke infinitesimally louder than words.

_Please don’t leave me_, The joker silently begged.

The Pearl felt like she was going to throw up-- all of her fear, anxiety, and dread was building up inside of her into something almost unmanageable. In all honesty, she knew not how she managed to keep herself from falling to the floor and screaming.

“Penelope,” White’s voice called from behind her, its tone a bit more insistent than before.

Suddenly she was snapped from her stupor. Her mistress was calling her, urging the servant to follow her instructions and leave the fool behind to be executed. It was a simple ask, from a woman who tended to prefer black and white solutions.

And maybe that was exactly what she needed, someone to put the events surrounding Spinel in perspective. As much as Penelope seemed to despise the idea, she knew that White’s verdict made sense-- the clown had tried to kill them all, execution was the only option. People were executed for less all the time, this was nothing if not an open and shut case, and her personal feelings for the fool would do nothing to change that

So she did the only thing she thought she could do in the moment, she ignored the jester’s stare and turned to follow her mistress.

As her feet carried her farther away from the fool, she resisted the urge to look back, knowing that if she did there was no telling what she would do. So instead she keep up her pace and continued to follow her Diamond.

Following the Empress closely the two of them eventually reached White’s quarters.

“You know,” White stated once the door was closed behind them, reaching out to take the vial of poison from the Pearl’s hands. “I was a bit wary at first, when I learned that you were spending so much time with the court fool. I think we are all aware of your tendency to become attached, however… you have proven my concerns to be unfounded, and for that I would like to thank you.”

...Thank you?

Penelope couldn't believe her ears, this was the first time that her mistress had ever thanked her before. Eye widening she directed her gaze at the older woman quizzically.

White smiled at her, and for once Penelope could almost imagine that it was genuine.

“You saved my daughters’ lives,” the Empress continued, ”and for that I believe that you deserve a reward.”

“A… reward?” Penelope felt the question leave her mouth before her mind could even catch up with what was going on.

“Of course starlight, you have done so much for me in the past few years and I'm ready to forgive your transgressions and allow us both to move on with our lives. How would you like to be my new chamberlain?”

“Cha...chamberlain?!” The servant squeaked, body going rigid, head spinning. A chamberlain was such a high ranking official, White couldn’t actually be serious about that offer-- moving up the rankings from a servant to a chamberlain was almost entirely unheard of. Sure she had lots of experience speaking for her mistress and running her court while she was out, but as a Pearl that was never something she was directly acknowledged for.

“Yes of course. You already know how to manage my household, it shouldn’t be too much of a change for you, we of course will need to get you new quarters and some new clothing befitting of your change in status.”

“I… what about your current chamberlain?”

“You needn't worry about that. I believe it is about time for her to retire anyway.” White replied simply before sitting down on one of her lounge chairs and going to more details about Penelope’s change in position. She spoke of all of the new activities she would be allowed to participate in, what her new duties would be, the adoration she would receive, at one point she even called in another servant to have a temporary chamberlains uniform delivered to the Pearl’s room for her to wear until they made one custom for her.

The servant stood there for the entire time, trying her best to take in all of the information that was being sent her way, to not much success. She knew not how long White spent talking to her about all of the minutiae, but she guessed it was at least an hour.

Not wanting to interrupt the Empress, she stood still and quiet-- only giving one word responses when prompted. Eventually her mistress seemed to realize that she was not processing much of anything and said “But I see this is a lot for you to take in. Why don’t you take the rest of the night off to think about it? You most certainly have earned it, you are dismissed”

“Of… of course my Diamond.” Penelope stuttered, before saluting and dismissing herself from White’s chambers.

Walking back to her room alone, she found herself alone with her thoughts for the first time since the incident in the ballroom.

No one was in the dark empty halls as she made her silent trek back to her quarters, perhaps they were all still dealing with the aftermath of the attempted poisoning.

Trying to avoid thinking about the events of the day, her mind clouded as she just followed her own feet without putting much thought into where she was going. So after walking for a few minutes, perhaps she should not have been surprised to find herself not standing in front of the door to her room, but instead the now open twin double doors to the ballroom.

The room was empty, evacuated of life. No one had bothered to clean up the mess from the fight; sticky red wine coated the stone, almost all of the tables were overturned, food a trampled mess of mush lining the floors, and worst of all the distinct smell of spilled blood which clung to the air as potentially as the wine or the sweets.

All of the torches were out, the room only illuminated by the soft glow of the full moon.

_You shouldn’t be here._ White’s voice echoed in her mind. _You should be in your room, rejoicing at the generous promotion I have given you._

And the servant knew the voice was right, there was nothing for her in the ballroom, and yet, despite everything, despite her mind screaming at her to turn away, to run back to her quarters, she instead took a step forwards into the room.

White’s voice shrieked at her to listen, to obey her mistress. And yet for the first time in a long, long time-- Penelope felt unbound from the need to obey, as instead, a new need flooded her system.

She walked over the sticky ground, which coated her shoes in the sickly sweet red of the poisoned wine, her target clear in her mind.

Eventually she reached it, a spot near the back left of the room-- next to the overturned banquet table. She looked down to see the telltale signs of a struggle, of the blood which pooled into a small puddle of dried crimson.

She could almost still see her clown standing over the guard, plunging her sickle deep into his shoulder, her laughter as he cried out in pain.

It rang out so loud in the Pearl’s mind that soon she found herself clutching her head, tears threatening to fall from her now closed eye as her mouth trembled with barely concealed emotion.

And suddenly the laughter was gone, and she was once again alone in the room.

Biting back a sob, she found her knees found the floor with an impact that would have made her cry out in pain if she were not already doing so.

Spinel had been her friend, the only person in the palace she felt at home with, Penelope had spent the better part of half a year by her side and in all that time she didn’t notice the other woman’s insidious plots. Of course it all made sense in hindsight-- the near crazed expression that filled the other’s gaze when she was around Pink Diamond, the way that she followed Pink around everywhere she went, the way she complained about not being to entertain her privately... the poisoned pastry.

She gripped her arms with a tightness that helped her keep her mind from spiraling once more.

In all of her time with Spinel, she failed to realize what the clown was up to, and even now that she knew, the one question she first had when she found the poison was still left unanswered.

Why?

Why did Spinel want to hurt Pink Diamond so badly? Badly enough to be willing to kill the entire court for it.

Considering the joker was scheduled to be executed by morning, Penelope knew it was likely a question she would never get an answer to. Maybe she should just move on with her life, try to pretend that the whole incident never happened.

And yet, every time she tried to move away from her spot, to get back to her feet and leave, something kept her there. After a few minutes of wrestling with herself, she grew frustrated at the lack of control she had over her own reactions. Why did she feel the need to get answers? It wouldn't change the outcome of anything, in fact even if she did somehow get Spinel to talk before her execution it would probably leave her feeling even worse. And yet despite how much she knew it wouldn’t make a real difference, she found herself wishing that she could just speak with the clown one more time.

But regardless of how she felt, Spinel was in the dungeons, and Penelope as a Pearl did not have access to such a place at the drop of a hat.

And that was when she froze, when a sudden thought filled her mind.

A Pearl, couldn’t access the dungeons, the guards would not let her-- but a chamberlain, well, that was another story.

Finally her legs seemed to once again listen to her as she hurried out to the ballroom, her feet clung to the ground as she pulled them from the sticky substance coating the floors and hurried to her room

Once she made it, she shut the door behind her she quickly and scanned the room for the chamberlain uniform White had delivered. Finding it laid out across her bed, she stripped down and hurriedly pulled on the outfit.

It was a big larger than her petite frame, the coat while fitting her at the shoulders, was too big at her chest and came down much longer along her sides. Figuring that it wouldn’t matter much, she grabbed the final piece of the outfit-- a large golden chain adorned with gems of all kinds swirling around the official golden seal of the royal family.

She took only one moment to adjust her hair so that she appeared sufficiently professional before exiting the room on a pathway straight towards the dungeons.

Taking the fastest route, she cut through the various staff chambers, passing by other quarters and specialty rooms, and she would have continued if not for out of the corner of her eye, spotting a very familiar door.

It was a door to a kitchen, to Spinel’s kitchen.

She was going to hurry past it, to make her way down to her destination, until she remembered what was inside. Taking a moment to steel herself, she pushed open the door of the kitchen and went inside.

It was dark, evidence of her earlier search apparent by how overturned the room looked. Traveling towards her target, Penelope ducked down to the hidden compartment she had discovered previously and saw the bonnet and sickle still on the floor.

She was looking for answers, the missing pieces to the puzzle, and no pieces were more confusing than one of the weapons Spinel seemed so proficient inl and that finely crafted hat. Quickly collecting both items, she shoved them in the inner pockets of her oversized coat before leaving the kitchen behind and continuing her trek.

Swiftly moving towards the dungeons, she passed various more doors until she finally reached the staircase leading to the bottom levels of the palace.

Staring down at them she blinked a couple times before realizing just exactly what she was doing.

She was willingly bringing herself back to the exact site where she had been imprisoned, where she learned that the world was much crueler and insidious then she ever thought it could be.

Bringing her hand up to her eye patch, she ran her fingers along the jagged edges of her scars. This was the last place she ever wanted to be, the place she had spent the last several years trying to forget.

If it were any other day, she would have reconsidered and ran back to her room without a second thought. But today was not just any normal day-- now was the time for action.

Biting the inside of her cheek until she felt the slight taste of blood coat her mouth, she began her decent.

Almost as soon as she reached the bottom of the steps she noticed a guard stationed at the entrance, torchlight from a wall mounted flame next to him illuminating his face in the darkness.

“Halt!” the guard called once she was within line of sight.

Not bothering to listen she continued to walk forwards until she was also within the light of the flame.

The guard pulled out his sword as she walked towards him, but once she was close enough for him to see her face she noticed him falter.

“T...the Empress’s Pearl?” He asked confusedly. “What are you doing here? Are you--”

Putting on her more strict and monotone voice, the one she always wore when addressing the court, she cut the guard off.

“I think you will find that you best address me as your superior, sentry. Word has not gotten out yet, but for my assistance in the capture of the treasonous joker, I have been given the title of chamberlain.”

The guard, looking over her outfit paused at the sigil she bore in the tangle of her golden chains, his eyes widening as he realized just who he was addressing.

“I...of course, my apologies chamberlain.” he quickly replied giving her a salute. “Now was there something you needed from me?”

“Yes,” she answered plainly, taking a moment to maintain her outwardly stern facade. “I am here to see the fool, I plan on questioning her.”

The guard looked conflicted for a second like he was about to protest. However his eyes kept glancing down at her chain before he sighed, nodded, and gestured her to follow him.

The two of them made their way through the dungeons, passing countless cells full of screaming individuals-- some crying for food, others for warmth, and some for the release of death. The guard ignored their cries, keeping his gaze forward as he lead her to the ore secured areas of the prison.

She followed his example, not looking at the others locked away in their cells, knowing that she would lose her nerve if she did not concentrate on what was directly in front of her.

Eventually they reached the very back of the dungeons, cut off from the rest-- a place she knew well as the cell farthest away from all the others, the one reserved for a very special kind of prisoner.

The same one she had been kept in for over a year. And in all that time it hardly changed. The air was still cooler than the rest of the prison, the bars just as jagged and rusty, a couple wooden chairs were placed near the edge for when the guards were particularly cruel and wanted to watch the prisoner inside suffer.

She was quickly snapped back to the present when the guard addressed her, explaining that if she needed anything he would be back at the other end of the dungeons at his post. She nodded and waved him off, never once taking her eye of the cell in front of her.

She looked upon the cell, shrouded in darkness-- from her angle, she was only able to see the bars.

She listened for the guards footsteps echoing off the stone floor as he walked back to his post. Waiting until the footsteps were far enough away that she would not be overheard, she walked over to one of the chairs, dragging it over to the front of the cell.

Sitting down all but a couple inches away from the bars, she leaned forwards and steepled her fingers, trying to figure out exactly what she was going to say.

But before she could come up with anything, a voice from inside the cell called out to her.

“Well Penny, it looks like you got yerself a pretty promotion, don’t tell me it was for catching little ole me?” The jester’s spat before her voice was overcome with giggles. Paradoxical emotions all rang in the clown’s simultaneously-- anger, betrayal, despair, and even what sounded like relief all rolled into one package as her laughter morphed into something more foreloned.

Penelope did not move, her eye still forward starting into the darkness past the bars. Crossing her arms she spoke.

“I need answers.”

Those three simple words immediately drew the laughter to a stop.

There was a pause, a small moment where the world seemed to stop, before two pink gloved hands reached out from the darkness to grip the bars of the cell.

“Do you now?” the clown asked bemusedly.

Penelope just nodded, eye upon those hands, wishing that the jester would fully step into the torch light so she could see her. Instead the gloves quickly relinquished their grip and retreated into the darkness once more.

The was a pause, and the chamberlain wondered if she would need to be more specific in her questioning before the jester interrupted her thoughts.

“It’s… a long story.”

The words were soft and pained, all of the bravado drained from the clown’s voice.

“We have all night,” Penelope responded. “I… want to understand.” she added in a whisper, her voice hitched, eye refusing to leave the cell.

“Ah my darling Penny, I suppose I owe you at least that much.”

And so Penelope folded her hands in her lap and listened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You were all so darn sweet to me last chapter, I would like to thank everyone who commented once again for all of their kind words.
> 
> Thank you all, and as always please let me know what you thought of the chapter, it is greatly appreciated :)


	4. When all your memories are tainted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's flashback time ya'll!

It was a chilly day when Nelle first met her angel.

The angel was curled up on the dirty cobblestone alley floor next to Nelle’s shack, shivering as the first flakes of snow fell to the ground. Many people passed her by without even a second glance.

The angel was horribly under-dressed for the climate, wearing nothing but a thin pink and black dress decorated with small blue flowers Nelle did not recognize. An intricate hat adorned with the same flowers was pulled down over her red ears.

She looked like she had nowhere else to go, and Nelle knew that once the night truly settled in, the young girl would freeze-- and she was not about to let that happen.

Quickly grabbing one of her warmest quilts, Nelle ran out, draped the blanket over the shivering girl, and gestured for her to follow.

The two of them made it back inside just before the wind picked up.

Once they were within the warmth of her hearth, Nelle finally got a good look at the stranger she literally dragged into her home. She was a young girl, perhaps only a year or two younger then Nelle herself. But what was strange about her was her immaculate dress and state of hygiene, her pale, completely unmarred, skin and her soft uncalloused face. It was as if all of life’s struggles had never even touched her, she truly appeared as if she did not belong to this mortal world.

Nelle unfortunately didn’t have much for this angelic stranger, she barely had enough clean water and food for herself, but she tried her best regardless. Pulling together her resources, she made the other girl some warm soup, and lent her some warm dry clothes. It had been deathly cold outside and she had no clue how long this girl was laying out there-- she needed something to warm her up.

“What’s your name?” Nelle had asked once the girl finished her soup.

The girl paused for a moment, as if weighing her options before responding with. “I was taught to never give out my name, back at my home everyone just calls me by my title-- Pink.”

The Nelle hummed at this response before saying. “Well, Hiya Pink! It’s nice to meet you, my name is Ellenor, but my mama and papa used to call me Nelle.” She said with a smile.

That night Nelle let the younger girl have her cot that and told her that she needn't worry, she could stay as long as she wanted.

The angel fell asleep quickly, as Nelle curled into her quilt laid out on the floor, and contemplated what having an angel in her house even meant.

She had been living alone for almost two years after her parents had passed. They were farmers by trade, as were most people in her little town. They taught her everything she needed to know about growing and harvesting crops; the most ideal time to plant seed, the proper technique when using a sickle during harvest, how to barter with other farmers, and the exchange rates of each crop.

Consumption had taken them both quickly, leaving Nelle entirely alone. She remembered crying for nearly a week straight, wondering what she was going to do. As she was too young to take over her parents property, it was given to the town and she was left with nothing. Luckily the rest of the farming community took pity on her and every year when the harvest came around, they allowed her to work on their lands in exchange for some of their crops.

After a couple months, she grew used to her new life-- but that did not mean that she wasn’t lonely. She missed having people to talk to, someone whom she could share her feelings with. Her parents never had any other children, despite their best efforts, and so they ended up being her whole world. Once they were gone, she felt that that space in her life would never be filled again. Days dragged on, each small pocket of eternity, wearing her down until she felt like nothing but a walking corpse, waiting for her inevitable death to take her as well.

Every night she wished for an end to her misery, for a miracle, something to make her life worthwhile.

Laying down on the floor of her shack, the young farmer peered over at her bed, at the sleeping angel and smiled. She knew not how, but it seemed that her prayers had actually managed to come true.

Snuggling into her blankets she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take her.

She was awoken by the angel in the morning-- thanking her profusely for allowing her to stay the night.

Nelle, of course, did her best to comfort the angel, expressing that there was no need for thanks, that in fact, she should be thanking her guest for blessing her with her presence.

The other girl laughed, her pale skin flushing a slight pink from the early morning chills, and soon Nelle found herself laughing along with her.

When the angel attempted to come in for a hug, Nelle graciously accepted it, burying her face in the other girl’s curls, trying her absolute best to not cry tears of joy.

They spent the next couple of weeks joined at the hip. And Nelle couldn’t recall a time she was more happy. She quickly learned that this wonderful new friend of hers was not in fact an angel, but the next best thing-- she was a princess.

A couple days into her stay, her guest informed her that she was in fact a ‘Diamond,’ Pink Diamond to be precise, one of the great rulers of the empire who recently gained ownership over the farmer’s town. She told the Nelle that she was fleeing from her palace so she could live her own life free of the confining expectations of her role.

Nelle wasn’t exactly sure what that all really meant at the time, so she just chalked it all up to her friend needed space from her family, and didn’t let that interfere with the wondrous time she spent in the princess’s presence.

Days paraded by with a swiftness Nelle was no longer used to. Pink, her Diamond, was nothing short of wondrous. She was playful and mischievous, the two of them found themselves running amok in the small town Nelle called home. For the first time since her parents died, the young farming girl had actually started to feel like herself once more. She used to be so curious, always ready to play-- and now she finally had a playmate.

Pink also seemed to be having the time of her life, if all of the compliments she gave Nelle were anything to go off of. The princess had told her that she was so much fun to be around, how she wasn’t like anyone in the palace and how much that was refreshing for her.

Nelle took pride in that, Pink swooped into her life when it was at its absolute worst and saved her, the least she could do was repay her by being fun to be around.

It was something out of a fairy tale, so it was no wonder that two weeks after their first meeting, Pink told Nelle that she was the best friend she ever had, that she never wanted to go back to the palace and wanted to stay with the farming girl forever. Nelle was quick to agree, exclaiming that she would also love it if the Diamond stayed.

“Thank you Nelle,” Pink smiled, “I wish I had something to give you to thank you for everything you’ve done. But all I have is my silly dress and my… oh!” she exclaimed before reaching to her head, or more specifically the small bonnet that rested upon her head. Taking it off, she walked up the farmer and placed it upon her crown.

Nelle tried to protest, to tell the princess that she couldn’t take her hat, that it was something way more befitting on a princess than some commoner.

Pink on the other hand was not having it, quickly shushing her playmate as she took a step back and admired her hat on the other girl.

“You look so cute!” Pink exclaimed, “Like one of my dolls back at the palace.”

The farmer smiled back at her joyously, “Oh thank you princess, I don’t know what to say.”

Pink beamed with a grin that seemed to encompass the whole world before waving her hand in a dismissive motion. “Don’t worry about it, friends give each other gifts, right? Well here is my gift to you.”

Nelle wore that hat for a week straight-- it swiftly became her absolute favorite possession, and she refused to leave it behind no matter what she was doing. She even wore it when she was going off to work in the fields, which ended up becoming more and more of a common occurrence now that she had another mouth to feed.

“Ughh, you already worked the last five days in a row Nelle, can’t you stay home today. I thought we could go play tag.” Pink groaned from her bed one morning, right after the farmer mentioned that she probably wouldn't be back until nightfall again.

“I’m sorry princess, but the harvest is coming and I have to make sure we have enough food for the winter.”

“Yeah, but it’s so boring when you’re gone, what am I supposed to do all day?” Pink continued to complain before pausing and suddenly exclaiming, “Oh, I know! I’ll come with you and help you work, It’ll be fun!”

Nelle wanted to protest, to tell Pink that working in the fields wasn’t very fun at all, but she found that she just couldn’t say no to the other girl-- her excitement was nothing if not infectious. So she gleefully agreed, what was the worst that could happen anyway?

Well, apparently the worst was pretty bad.

Pink had quickly realized that tolling in the sun all day was not the type of activity she thought it would be. Her untanned skin and uncalloused fingers not coping particularly well with the strong heat and manual labor. The princess quickly grew tired and began to wander off-- Nelle called for her to not go too far, however, after only a couple minutes, the farmer realized that the princess was nowhere to be found.

She panicked, worried that the other girl might have gotten lost somehow. So she sheathed her sickle and went looking for her.

She wasn’t hard to find.

Nelle heard a familiar voice yelling from a couple fields over, running towards the sound, she found Pink struggling in the grip of what looked to be an official looking knight. The farmer noticed that his garbs had the same four shaped multicolored Diamonds that Pink had described for her when explaining who her family was.

It looked like the knight was trying to restrain her friend, and from Pink’s protest-- she was obviously not so keen on being held.

Mouth straightening into a line, Nelle knew what she needed to do, she needed to protect her friend, no matter what.

It was easy to sneak up on the guard, as he quite literally had his hands full. Bringing the blunt end of her sickle to the back of his knee with as much force as she could, she was able to bring the grown man down to the floor. Before the knight could recover, she grabbed Pink’s hand and they both ran as fast as they could away from the field.

With the knight still recovering from his injury, the two of them were able to lose him quite easily, however just to be on the safe side, Nelle did not stop running until the both of them were safely back at her shack.

“Oh, hahaha,” Pink laughed, bending over and struggling to catch her breath after their sprint. “Nelle, you were amazing! You took down that guy so quickly, and he was a knight!”

The farmer flushed at the compliment before joining in with the princess’s laughter. “It wasn’t anything too special, I just was able to surprise him.”

“Don’t be like that.” Pink chided, “You saved me from being taken back, if I were a grown up and we were in my palace I could knight you for that!”

Nelle smiled, hand still clenched around her sickle tightly, still chuckling, she moved to set it down at her bedside. Of course as a farmer she was quite used to swinging her sickle all day, but she never even considered using it on another human being until she saw Pink in trouble.

She thanked the princess for her compliment and soon the two of them found themselves distracted in another game. Pink pretending to be on a diplomatic mission with Nelle pretending to be her knight.

Another week passed, and as the harvest drew closer and closer, Nelle found herself spending much more time in the fields to increase her food storage for the winter. She had two mouths to feed now, which meant she had to two doubly hard.

After the close call in the field, the princess started staying behind when Nelle went out. As that continued, It became increasingly obvious with each day that Pink was not having much fun waiting in the hut by herself.

The princess began complaining about more and more as time went on. First she began to grow tired of the simple broths that the farmer would make, asking Nelle if she could bring home some cake or sweets. Nelle had to inform her that unfortunately she wasn’t able to afford such luxuries. Then Pink began to complain about the cot she was sleeping on, saying that the hay stuffed mattress was too hard and itchy for her and she so desperately missed her cotton bedding back in her room at the palace. Soon it became common place for the princess to very vocally compare her current accommodations to the lavish life she came from.

Of course Nelle felt bad that she couldn't provide her new friend the things she was used to, but she was sure that Pink knew that she was trying her best-- and that was what really counted at in the end. Sure the princess was homesick, but she also gave her word that she would stay, and considering how well they had gotten along up until this point, Nelle had no reason to doubt her.

One night, about three weeks into the princess’s stay, Nelle felt herself awaken to the sound of someone walking across her shack’s floor.

Bolting up, she momentarily panicked, worried that perhaps one of knights looking for Pink had managed to find her and were sneaking in to take her away.

She looked around the room to find a not a stranger, but Pink-- dressed in the outfit Nelle had found her in. the princess, noticing that her host had woken up, froze and slowly turned to look at her, eyes wide.

“Princess?” Nelle called, sleepy from her pile of blankets on the floor, “Are you going somewhere?”

The nervousness in the other girl’s eyes quickly calmed before she turned to face the farmer.

“Yeah… I… I’ve been thinking it over and well, I think it’s time for me to return to the palace.” she said sheepishly.

“You… what?” the farmer let out in a squeak.

Quickly backpedaling, the princess raised her hands in a defensive motion before saying. “I can’t stay here forever Nelle.”

The farmer’s mind was racing along with her heartbeat, as she struggled to reconcile what was transpiring in front of her. “You’re leaving me? But I thought you said we’d be friends forever, that you’d never go back.”

“Of course.” Pink quickly corrected, moving away from the door and walking back towards the farmer. “And I meant it, there are just some things I need to take care of… oh I know!” She proclaimed, kneeling down so that she was face to face with the girl sitting on the floor. “You just wait here for me. I know where your shack is. We... we’ll play that game where you are my knight…. Or…. even better, we’ll make that game a reality! I’ll come back when I’m a grown up, and I’ll make you my knight!”

Eyes comically widening, Nelle could not prevent a surprised gasp from escaping her throat. “Really!?” she asked incredulously, living in a palace was something that the farmer never even imagined possible for her, but with how convincingly Pink’s words were, she could almost see it.

“Yeah really, remember how you fought off that guy who tried to take me? I’m sure you’d make an amazing knight.”

Nelle was sure that her jaw was all but dragging on the ground. This was all a dream come true, and she didn’t even know how to respond, so Pink responded for her.

“But that does mean I’ll have to leave now, but I’ll come back-- I promise. Wait for me Nelle?”

“Yes!” the young farmer responded a bit too loudly before blushing and lowering her voice, “I mean, yeah, I’ll wait for you Pink, as long as you need.”

The princess smiled at her and Nelle felt all of her worries vanish. Exchanging their goodbyes, the Diamond waived before exiting the shack, leaving the farmer all by herself.

The next few weeks were hard, Nelle reaccustoming herself to being alone once more. She supposed that that was to be expected, Pink came into her life and made her feel whole once more, of course she would feel sad that her best friend left. However regardless of how much it pained her to go about her daily routine without the small smiling princess, she pushed through. Pink was coming back for her, she had promised, so there was no need to be sad, all she needed to do was wait.

Of course that was easier said than done and some night were much harder than others.

Pink had told her that she wanted the farmer as a part of her court-- as one of her knights. That was an immense honor for someone of non-noble birth. Even at the age of twelve, the farmer knew that meant she was going to be among other knights who had been professionally trained in the ways of the sword. Knowing that she would need to be able to hold her own when in their company, she began to use her spare time to train.

Knight usually used a sword and she most definitely could not afford such an expensive weapon. Instead she turned to the one weapon she already knew well. The sickle was almost second nature to her at this point, an extension of herself whenever she worked the fields. She supposed that if Pink were already making an exception by allowing her to join her ranks, she could also probably let the farmer use her weapon of choice.

While very familiar with the sickle, she still knew she needed to train as hard as she could in preparation of Pink returning to her. She would learn to be the best knight in the whole of the kingdom for her best friend.

She started by making scarecrows out of hay to practice on, learning where the best places were to strike an enemy. But soon, the entirely stationary target left her yearning to try out her skills on something that actually would attack her back. Luckily her town, having always been bordering a forest, was always looking for those who would be willing to put their lives on the line to defend them against wild animals.

Killing bears and boars was probably much different than killing humans-- but Nelle got her practice in where she could. The others who would volunteer for such dangerous business, also seemed desperate to prove something, and so she quickly assimilated to that lifestyle. Learning how to fight not only from the wild animals, but also from the other mercenaries.

One mercenary in particular always choose to accompany her on hunts, as his skill of trade was less fighting based and more thought out. Having spent his whole life perfecting a sort of fast acting poison, he would purposefully poison foods that were attractive to wild animals and planted them at the edge of town to ward off the creatures. As he could not fight himself, he often relied on Nelle as back up for whenever he needed to go and plant the lures, and she was happy to accompany him-- more practice for her.

It became commonplace for her to return after a hunt, battered and beaten from the fight of the day. She would curl up in bed and weep until her tears managed to distract her from the pain. Sometimes she wouldn’t be able to even get out of bed for weeks on end. But whenever the pain and despair threatened to overwhelm her, she would just look upon her last gift from Pink, the small hat propped up on the corner of her only chair. She would imagine that instead of a chair, it was back on the princess's head. That the diamond would whisper to her and tell her that everything was going to be alright.

All of this practicing left little room for her to actually continue to do farm work, which meant that she became reliant on the funds given to her when she completed a successful hunt. Soon farming became all but a distant thought and fighting became her new norm.

She also knew that to be a proper knight, she would need a knight's outfit. Although she did not have the funds for armor, or to even commission something official, she invested much of her resources into buying fabrics that she desperately tried to cobble together into something that resembled what she though a knight would wear. While more expensive than white fabrics, she bought in pink and blacks-- like the colors of the princess’s dress the day she found her.

If she were to be a knight for her princess then of course she would need to look the part, act the part, and have the necessary skills to play the part.

So everyday she strove to be better, to fix every little flaw in her stance, to make every strike count, to make sure not a stitch was out of place on her outfit.

With every year that passed, Nelle grew more and more committed to her mission.

With every year her routine grew more and more intense.

With every year she found it easier and easier to dismiss her doubts.

Pink was going to come back, she promised, and the word of someone as noble as a Diamond had to be believed.

It was nine years after her friend's departure, when she heard the news-- the youngest princess, Pink Diamond was going to be touring what was to be her section of the empire once she came of age. And Nelle’s small village just happened to be one of the places that she was passing through.

Nelle rejoiced, it must have been Pink coming back to get her.

In the weeks that lead up to the visit, Nelle could hardly contain herself, lying awake at night thinking of all the things the two of them could catch up about before falling to sleep filled with dreams of reunions.

Of course once the day of the visit came, she was not the only one vying for the attention of the princess. At first she considered not attending any of the festivities, sure that the princess would come and visit her, as she did know exactly where Nelle lived. But after a couple hours with no sign of a visit, the knight-in-training decided to go seek the Diamond out.

She was a princess, which meant that she was sure to be busy. So of course it was quite presumptuous of her to imagine that Pink could get a spare moment to go all the way to Nelle’s house. She was probably waiting for the ex-farmer to go and find her. Mentally chastising herself, Nelle put on her makeshift knights outfit and ran outside.

The princess was not hard to find, she was parading down the biggest road in the village, on what Nelle considered to be the most gorgeous steed she had ever seen before, surrounded by servants and a couple of knights.

It looked as if the whole village was surrounding her, all calling out to the princess, waving, and holding offerings that her entourage would collect and pile into a horse drawn carriage behind her.

Trying her best to catch a glimpse of her friend, Nelle maneuvered around the crowd, navigating through the cheering masses with the dexterity that she had accrued over her years of training. Every once in awhile she would see a bit of that familiar strawberry blonde hair bobbing up and down.

Trying her best to contain her surely massive grin, Nelle continued to move through the crowd, taking only a couple moments to readjust her outfit in preparation of seeing her friend once more.

Eventually, after much struggle, she managed to make it to the front of the crowd--- calling out to her friend as loudly as she could. However, her call was quickly drowned out by all of the other people all doing the same..

Biting her bottom lip, the ex-farmer waited until the closest knight was looking away from her and swiftly cut into the blocked off street, and right into the pathway of Pink’s horse.

The princess noticed her before her guards did. Their eyes met and Nelle could feel joy unlike any other illuminating the scene around them.

Pink looked good-- she was certainly much taller than the last time Nelle had seen the Diamond. Her face had lost much of its baby fat, settling into something more almond shaped. Her hair was combed out, with a small crown of golden flowers laid upon her head. Her outfit was regal, series of rose and gold colored fabrics draped along her shoulders. She definitely looked the part of a princess. She was almost unrecognizable from the ten year old child who stayed with Nelle for the best few weeks of her life, though she supposed that was not entirely unexpected. Nine years was quite a long time.

“Pink!” she exclaimed waving to her friend. “It’s me!”

The princess looked her up in down several times, as Nelle tried her best to stand still for the inspection. She supposed that she would look quite different as well. Almost twenty one, she was of age and finally considered an adult-- her small and wiry frame now built with compact muscles from her training, her hair much longer as she had it tried up in twin buns on the side of her head.

“Hey you!” A voice called from behind her. It must have been one of the guards, they finally noticed that she had stepped out of line. Not particularly worried about what Pink’s guards said, she stood her ground, fully expecting the princess to come off of her horse to greet her.

No such thing happened, instead Pink stayed still, starting at Nelle confusedly. Rather than a flash of recognition and that wonderful smile Nelle remembered, the princess quirked a perfect eyebrow at her, a frown decorating her face. Turning to her guards she asked.

“Who is this and why did you let her bypass you?”

Nelle felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach at that comment, her whole world shattering in front of her. As everything came crashing down, the ex-farmer could not take her gaze off of the young woman in front of her, who continued to eye her as if she were some random hooligan who dared to interrupt her.

Nelle couldn’t even seem to find the strength to care, when she was grabbed by her shoulders and pulled away from the princess. She couldn’t even manage to feel the pain as she was haphazardly tossed back into the crowd. She couldn’t even attempt to listen when the guards asked the princess if she wanted her arrested for daring to interrupt the Diamond’s parade.

“She was just over eager,” Pink proclaimed, as if Nelle were not still in earshot of her, “It is quite endearing, knowing that my subjects are this passionate about meeting me. There is no need to arrest her for being excited.”

At her words the crowd cheered once more, showering her with praise about her mercy and forgiveness, while taking turns giving Nelle dirty looks for daring to greet the Diamond.

Nelle just laid there, as the mud and grime from the street coated the outfit she worked so hard on.

As the princess continued down the street, so did the rest of the village who were following her tour.

She did not know if it was minutes or hours that she laid there alone in the mud, but eventually she managed to find her feet, and slowly maneuvered back to her shack.

Her steps were small and labored, as if her body weighed twice what it had not but a few hours ago. All in all she was surprised that she actually managed to find the strength to move.

After a few minutes of shambling, her feet drawing to a standstill. Nelle looked upon the ground to see a few droplets of something fall to the earth-- bringing her hands up to her face, she realized that she was crying.

Running the rest of the way home, she opened her shack door, slammed it behind her, and began to wail. A choked broken cry emanated from her mud coated lips as she fell to the floor and curled up into a little ball.

She had changed her entire life to revolve around someone who didn’t even bother to remember her.

She thought back on the day that Pink left-- the day the princess had lied to her face.

So much for the promise of a Diamond.

Suddenly her knights outfit felt increasingly claustrophobic against her skin, as if all of the false lies and promises were trapping her. As quickly as she could she ripped and clawed and removed the offending clothing from her person, throwing it to the floor with unexpected rage.

Stupid!

She was so incredibly stupid to think that she meant anything to one of the most important people in the empire.

Her anger not subsiding at all, she grabbed the fabric and continued to rip at it, fraying the ends as tears continued to fall to the ground. The pink and black outfit was soon nothing but torn cloth upon her floor,

She was supposed to be a knight, to fight for her princess, and now she was nothing.

Fury building in her by the minute, Nelle began to pace around the floor of her shack going through the previous day events over and over in her mind. She was so caught up in herself that she almost tripped over the wooden handle of something on her floor.

Catching herself she looked down as was greeted by one of her sickles, haphazardly thrown to the ground after her last mercenary job.

Crouching down to pick it up off the floor, she felt slightly comforted by the familiar feel of it in her hand. Sitting down on her cot, she looked at herself in the reflection of the blade. She looked awful, dark bags underneath her eyes, bruises and cuts decorated her face. She didn’t look like a knight, in fact if anything she looked like the exact opposite, a criminal on the run from a knight.

She met her own eyes in her reflection and resisted letting out a chuckle. Well considering she basically intruded on Pink in the middle of her parade she basically was a criminal-- the way everyone looked at her with such disgust, as if she were trying to kill the princess instead of say hello to her.

She scoffed at that thought and wondered how people would react if she was actually trying to do something nefarious.

If she were actually trying to do harm….

If she were actually trying to harm the princess…

Freezing in place, starting at the sickle in her hands, she allowed a very treasonous thought to pass through her mind.

And then another

And another.

Gripping the hilt she slowly rose from her position on the bed, and made a practice swing at the air. Lowering herself into a battle stance, she mimed fighting her way through a crowd of guards, ducking and dodging imaginary attacks before eyeing her target.

In measured motion she threw her blade. Flying across the room, it landed right in the middle of the door, embedding itself deeply into the wood.

Grinning from across the room, she slowly stalked over and plucked her weapon out from the door..

She would need more practice of course, but with nine years of training already under her belt, she knew very well what she was capable of.

And so she committed herself to an entirely new mission, one she decided for herself-- a mission of vengeance.

It wasn’t hard finding a way into the palace-- at least it wasn’t as hard as Nelle had first imagined it to be. The week of Pink’s visit, the town crier made their rounds announcing to the public that the royal joker had been executed.

This was the fourth jester to be executed in the last decade, and it seemed that hardly anyone was still willing to take the role anymore in fear of their safety.

“It’s a suicide mission,” the towns people whispered to each other. “You know how fickle the Diamond’s can be.”

That was exactly the type of mission Nelle was looking for. Of course she would need to do some prep-work to appear as a professional clown. But she was not worried-- having taught herself how to fight, she figured learning how to sing and dance would be a fun addition, and so she got to work.

Nelle once again committed herself to learning an entirely new skill set. She no longer dreamt of once again being able to play with her friend. No, now she dreamed about all the things she was going to do to Pink the next time their paths crossed.

She also began to make her jester outfit-- sewing together different pieces of her torn knights uniform, creating an amalgamation of different contrasting patterns and colors. While it certainly no longer fit as a professional knight’s outfit, its weird charm and haphazard look made it a shoe in for a jester’s.

No longer caring about saving funds and supplies for the next winter, she sold everything that wasn’t essential to her, earning enough money for a couple other things she thought necessary to bring. First she got back in contact with that one mercenary she used to accompany frequently, and bought out his entire stock of that pinkish toxin that he would use to poison prey. She then scoured her small town for someone who made and sold paints. She doubted that Pink would bother to remember her, considering their last interaction, but of course she thought it better to be safe than sorry. For if she bought face paints for her clown outfit there would be significantly less chance of the Diamond recognizing her.

The paints, as luxury items, ended up costing her an arm and a leg-- but she gladly paid the price. She was going to the capital of the empire in an attempt to assassinate one of the princesses, even if her mission was a success, she doubted that she would be able to leave her crusade alive. There was no need for money any longer.

The day she finally was able to put all of these disparate pieces together, she nearly cried in relief. Taking almost an entire year to prepare, she did not want to waste anymore time, and so began to pack the few things she needed.

Her farming sickles, obviously. Who knows, she might have to fight her way out of a room if push came to shove. Plus, maybe if she was lucky enough she’d be able to sink the sharp metal directly into Pink’s face.

She giggled to herself at the thought and she tossed her sickles into a bag. Then she moved to shove everything else in-- the poisons, a change of clothes, all of her extra face paints… and… she paused, starting at the last item she had not sold or packed.

The little hat still rested on the edge of her chair, its flowers faded with age.

Even after Pink’s betrayal she never even considered selling it. It was a reminder of everything she was, of all of her years of waiting for the other girl. Ridding herself of it at this point seemed nearly impossible. Not even thinking twice she reached for the hat and threw it in her bag as well.

The trek to the capitol was a long one, but she managed to catch a couple caravans heading that way and hitched a ride with them. The caravans, noticing her outfit, asked if they could have a show for their troubles. She agreed thinking it best to practice her routines in front of an audience before having to do it in front of the Diamonds.

The caravan ended up being quite helpful, giving her advice on how to improve her material and even teaching her some of the songs they sung on the road.

Of course it was only a matter of time before one of them asked her name.

Realizing that she would probably have to go by a false name while in the palace, she came up with a pseudonym--- Spinel. It was one of the only other gems she knew, considering the Diamonds also went by gem based titles, she thought it fitting.

Once she arrived in the capitol, she quickly found herself dwarfed by the massive palace in the center of the city. If she were here for any other reason, she might have taken a moment to stop and admire the majesty of it-- but there was nothing majestic about the home of the woman she was going to kill. It was just a big pile of stones, Pink stood upon convincing herself that she was above everyone else.

If Nelle had her way the palace would be destroyed, Pink having to see everything she loved torn away from her violently.

Laughing to herself once more the clown maneuvered the streets towards the palace.

She went up to the closest guard stationed at the base of the palace and informed them she was here to apply for the role of court fool. Knowing that they would search her, she stashed her more dangerous belongings in the bushes near the palace grounds, planning on sneaking out that night to retrieve them when no one was watching.

After having been approved for entry, she expected to be greeted by some servants, or Pearls, as she had picked up by the way the guards referred to them. However, instead she was accompanied by a pair of sentries who led her directly to the quarters of White Diamond herself, Grand Empress of the entire Kingdom.

To say that Spinel was nervous was the understatement of the century. Yet despite her initial dread at the meeting, the Empress did not bother to even look up from the massive amounts of paperwork on her desk when the jester and guards entered.

The guards introduced her and she was commanded to show the Empress what she could do.

Not bothering to hold back, she brought out her most difficult and complicated routine; complete with juggling, some stand up, and a whole musical number-- including song and dance.

While the guards laughed at her routine, White barely looked away from her work.

Once Spinel reached her conclusion, the Empress merely waved her hand lackadaisically before saying.

“Pink has been most insistent that we get her another clown as soon as possible, considering her birthday is about to be upon us. However, there are no qualified candidates,” She sighed “I suppose we’ll just have to make this one work.”

Pushing down her anger, the clown bowed, and allowed herself to be escorted out.

Shown her new quarters by her escorts, she quickly threw her bag onto the plush bed and began to unpack.

She was in

Now all she needed to do was wait for the right time.

……

……

…....

…….

…….

As Spinel’s story drew to a close, laughter began to emanate from the cold dark cell in front of the new chamberlain. While she still couldn't see the other woman, Penelope could certainly hear her. It took a moment for Penny to become aware that her hand was over her mouth, she was unsure of when that happened, but ever so slowly she lowered it.

Quickly standing to her feet, she barely cared that she nearly knocked her chair over with such a sudden motion. The loud noise must have attracted the attention of a couple other prisoners, as she noticed a few whispers being exchanged behind her. Not bothering to pay much attention to her spectators, she approached the bars of the cell until she was only a step away from them.

“Spinel….. Nelle…. I, I’m so sorry for what happened to you.” Penelope spoke, despite all of the raging emotions inside of her, her voice came out oddly calm-- a light breeze on a blistering day. serene and comforting. “That was truly horrifying to listen to, I can’t imagine how you feel.”

There was a pause before the clown giggled from the safety of the darkness.

“I suppose that means a lot coming from you.”

The chamberlain tilted her head to the side in confusion before the jester clarified.

“Word spreads quickly around the court, especially about the Diamonds. Talk to anyone for more than a quick minute and you’ll find some appalling story about how the leaders of our ‘great empire’ have done them wrong. But none of them have a story more telling than yours.”

The chamberlain froze, she supposed that it was no surprise that Nelle had heard about what had happened to her, the court did love to gossip. Hand coming up to rest over her eye patch, Penelope closed her other eye-- feeling a familiar sensation boil over inside her, she let it out in a small giggle.

“I guess we make quite the pair don’t we?” She responded through her chuckles. Nelle always managed to make her laugh, and as terrible as their situation was now, Penny wasn’t surprised that still held true.

“That we do.” Came the jester’s voice, much closer and more crisp then it had been all night.

Quickly opening her eye, Penelope found that the joker had finally approached to meet her on the other side of the bars. Face no longer obscured by the shadows-- Penelope was able to see Nelle for the first time since she was arrested.

Her clown makeup was smeared, purple lipstick smudged along the side of her cheek, nearly wiped clean from her lips. The rest of her face paint dulled and mixed with the distinct crimson of blood.

Her smile drawn out and wide, but still hesitant, like she was unsure of what the other was going to do now that she revealed herself.

Despite how disheveled the other woman looked, Penelope couldn't help but feel a massive smile graced her features.

“Heya Penny,” the clown whispered, their gaze meeting, as she hesitantly reached beyond the bars with a slowness that seemed almost prepared for the chamberlain to move away.

However Penny did not move away. In fact as soon as she realized what the jester was attempting to do, she moved her hand to meet hers.Both their hands curled into each other.

“Heya Nelle,” Penelope responded. Even after everything the clown had done, the chamberlain couldn't resist squeezing her hand reassuringly.

Nelle laughed once more, this one much softer and more contained as her smile finally reached her eyes. Resting her cheek against one of the bars she spoke.

“I’m glad I gotta see you once last time.”

Those words, so full of yearning, sent a chill down the Penny’s back as she was suddenly and forcibly taken out of this moment of triumph and was placed back into the tragic reality in which they lived. Biting her bottom lip, brow furrowing, she tried her best to not ruin this last moment they would have together.

Their last moment.

This moment

A million thoughts clouded her mind, all with different intensities and emotions. All screaming at her to do something, to say something, to not let this moment go to waste. It was nearly paralyzing, struggling to keep her breath secure she tried to calm herself down.

_Nelle is going to die._

_She is going to be executed, and you’ll never see her again._

_She tried to kill someone, she deserves it._

_Not just someone, the whole court._

_This is how it has to be…. Criminals are to be executed._

_This is how it has to be…. Or is it?_

And suddenly all of those thoughts vanished, giving way to just one. One loud undiminishable statement.

“What you did…” She began, gaze returning to meet that magenta one. “Was unacceptable…No matter what happened to you... You know that right? The whole court nearly died.”

The clown paused before bringing one of her hands behind her head nervously. “Well, shucks Penny, I know I wasn’t thinking with a clear mind. I… I just… yeah… I know, and I’m sorry.” She responded head turned to look at the floor in shame. “I hope you can forgive me, I mean I guess it doesn’t matter in the end, I just--”

The clown was silenced as soft fingers reached just underneath the clown’s chin and tenderly lifted her face to meet the chamberlain's once more.

And in that moment, the jester looked more fragile than the ex-Pearl had ever seen her, more than when they had first met, even more than when the clown snuck into her room that one night. She looked resigned to her fate, tired, like any small motion would expend too much energy and break her.

Still only a small distance apart, Penelope made sure the other woman could see just how earnest and committed she looked when she said,

“That’s all I needed to hear, I… I forgive you.”

The shock look upon the jester almost made the chamberlain chuckle, as Penelope’s hand moved from underneath the fool’s chin to cup the side of her face, thumb rubbing small circles in her cheek.

To say that she expected the joker to kiss her would be highly inaccurate. Before she could even blink, the other woman lifted her hand to grasp the one on her cheek, and very carefully turned her lips to kiss the chamberlain’s palm.

She nearly petrified at the sight, the warm and surprisingly soft lips left a tingling in their wake, which quickly spread down her arm and to the rest of her body.

Emboldened by the display of affection and driven by the need to make this moment count Penelope’s hand brushed past the clown’s lips to settle firmly on her back.

Nelle turned to meet her with an expression that was worried, as if she crossed the line by kissing the other woman’s palm. So Penelope reassured her-- hand gripping the back of the fool’s tattered outfit, she pulled the other woman closer and captured her lips with one smooth motion.

Nelle let out a small surprised squeak, before melting into the kiss. Soon the joker’s arms moved to grip the front of the chamberlain's chains, drawing her as close as she possibly could.

Penelope felt overwhelmed, like someone had set her entire body ablaze, and for a quick moment she wished beyond everything that the bars between them would just disappear so she could hold the other woman properly in her arms.

Vaguely, she was aware of a couple gasps behind her from presumably other prisoners in their cells, watching this whole dramatic scene transpire. But she couldn't bring herself to care about anything except the press of Nelle’s lips, and the small moans she was managing to draw from the fool.

After what felt like a small eternity, Penelope pulled away from the clown, who made her displeasure at their separation known with a small whine.

But that did not stop the chamberlain from saying what she meant to.

“I’m not going to let them kill you.” She spoke to the surprised look of her jester and the various building chatter behind her.

The shock on Nelle’s face relaxed into something more playful.

“Are you now sweetheart? And how are you gonna do that?” she purred, leaning against the bars of her cell in a way that was certainly meant to be provocative.

Voices came from the cells behind her, calling for Penelope’s assistance, calling for her to free them as well.

“Just you watch,” she responded, leaning in to kiss the jester’s cheek before taking a couple steps back and turning around to face the lines of other cells. The prisoner’s seeing her turn to face them, starting to yell and chant louder.

She smiled and waited, all this commotion would attract the attention of the only guard currently stationed in the dungeons.

And sure enough, it was only a couple minutes before that familiar guard came running down the hall.

Gaze meeting hers, he quickly moved to her side.

“Chamberlain, are you alright” he addressed her, worry clear in his voice. “I apologize for these savages, let me accompany you back.”

Putting on a face, she tried her best to look horrified and appalled at all of the yelling. “Oh yes, please escort me back.” she called to him.

He nodded and turned around, about to walk back to where he came from.

“Just this way Chamberlain. I’ll make sure to---”

A loud blunt strike echoed throughout the room, as the guard fell to the stone floor, unconscious. Penelope stood over him, holding up the blunt end of the sickle she brought with her from the kitchen.

Quickly reaching down to grab the guard’s keys, she stood back to her feet.

Turning to her jester she threw her a smile and said, “That’s how.”

Everybody in the cells broke out in cheers, as Penelope held the keys up for all of them to see.

“Everyone,” she called turning once more to look over their faces, now all pressed up against their bars looking directly at her. Some of them she recognized from her time locked away down here, other more new faces-- gaunt from their mistreatment awakened something spirited in the chamberlain. “Today is the day that we all leave this horrible place, It’s going to be hard, but if we all work together then there is nothing the guards can do to stop us!”

Turning to look at every desperate face gazing back at her she continued, “They locked away so many of us! We are bound to outnumber them 3 to 1”

The crowd cheered as Penelope turned back around to face the woman she cared about more than she could possibly say.

Nelle looked back at her beaming at her speech, and Penelope soon felt her lips curve upwards to match.

It wasn’t going to be easy, despite surely outnumbering the guards, all the prisoners were unarmed-- this was not a fight for the meek.

Luckily, as she finally allowed herself to fall into those swirling magenta eyes, she, for the first time in her life, felt anything but meek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was intending to finish the story in this chapter, but there was no way I could fit everything I wanted into one segment, so I'm splitting them up into two. So next chapter will be the last chapter, and it's gonna be a doozy.


	5. I will still be there for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viva la revolución!

She recognized them from her time in prison. The ex-noble woman with long hair that frequently covered her eyes. The blacksmith, who had been accused of making weapons for insurgent groups against the crown. The completely silent one in the back, and the shorter very vocally shrill one who would call for them to please just say something.

They were all looking upon her now as she spoke. The plan was to let all the prisoners out first, then, once they were all organized and ready, storm the castle. One by one she released them to mixed response; some immediately drew her into a hug, some moved slowly out, not wanting to take an eye off her for a second, others broke into tears, and still some more refused to emerge entirely, clinging to the familiarity of their cell. But most of the prisoners exited simply, giving Penelope a slight nod before either taking some keys to free others, or staying behind to care for those more hesitant and overwhelmed.

Nelle was leaning against the outside of her cell at the corner of Penelope’s vision. She told the clown to wait for her as she separated out the keys. After handing out the last few to a pair of prisoners and asking them to check in with her once everyone was freed, she finally turned back towards her clown and let out a sigh of relief.

Well, she no longer had to worry about this being Nelle’s final night, it was all or nothing now. They were in the same boat-- and there was a possibility that neither of them would make it…

...Or they both would.

Biting softly at her lower lip, she knew either way she wanted to spend at least a couple minutes by the jester’s side before they stormed the castle. Approaching her, she vaguely noticed that most of the other prisoners backed away slightly as if they were trying to give them some space.

Nelle grinned at her approach, “Well I certainly didn’t think you had that in ya doll~” She purred, slinking up to meet the other woman halfway.

Penelope chuckled before she reached into her coat and pulled out the sickle and hat she had found in the kitchen, holding them out for Nelle to take.

The jester quickly took hold of the weapon, and very hesitantly reached for the hat.

Noticing this Penelope followed with, “We can get rid of the bonnet if you’d like.”

The clown frowned before shaking her head lightly, “No, I don’t think I can do that just yet,” she responded, and without further elaboration took hold of the fabric and pulled it close to her.

There was something about that motion that made Penelope feel incredibly uncomfortable. She knew it was not her place to tell the other woman what she could and couldn't keep, but after seeing her reaction to the hat, she couldn’t help but feel that maybe she shouldn’t have returned it.

There was much they still needed to talk about, but now that Penelope had this moment, she didn’t know what to say.

So she let her actions speak for her, gently reaching out to wrap her hands around the other woman who was still clutching the bonnet, she leaned down to press her forehead against the clown’s

Taking a minute to feel the gentle warmth of the fool’s body heat, she let a few beats of silence pass before whispering

“When this is all over, we can just leave.”

Spinel pulled away and raised an eyebrow at the sudden declaration, “Penny, if we win someone is gonna havta take care of things afterwards.”

Humming, she replied, “Of course, but there are many prisoners down here, should we win, I’m sure someone else can step up to the plate… that is, if that’s what you want?”

The clown chuckled before saying, “Yeah… I think I'd like that. We could just get in a carriage and keep riding until we are outta this stinking empire.”

“Well then I promise you, I will make sure that happens.”

Nelle giggled, gratefully leaning into her touch, tucking her head securely into the junction between the other woman’s shoulder and neck.

The moment was over before both of them were entirely ready to let go. However after a couple calls from the other prisoners directed at Penny, letting her know that everyone was finally out of their cages-- they knew it was time.

Penelope turned around and looked upon the crowd of prisoners who had gathered behind her. Taking a couple steps forward, she raised her voice to be sure that they could all hear her.

“There are many ways we can do this,” She announced. “But I believe the best way would be to raid the armory first. There may be more of us then there are of them, but they have access to weapons, it would be in our best interest to change that.”

Her voice was clear and rang out chillingly smooth. The ex-pearl spent quite a lot of time representing her Diamond. All those years of speaking in front of a crowd, of directing and overseeing the actions of those in the court, if there was any moment for this to pay off it would be now.

The crowd hung on her every word as she continued to explain the route they would take, where patrols were the thinnest, and how to bring as little attention to themselves in the first stage of the plan.

“Then once we are all armed the castle will fall quickly-- I know most of you are not trained in fighting, but that is alright. Should we do this correctly most of you won’t even have to see combat. Once some of us are armed, we will systematically take out those who are threats before the Diamonds even realize what is going on and consolidate their guard. Those who are against us will realize that they have been outmaneuvered, and if they value their safety, will surrender.”

Whispers of doubt broke out in the crowd as people began to voice their concerns. Some even going as far as saying that they shouldn't take any chances with surrender and should just attack everyone.

Penelope was about to speak once more, to try and reassure her fellows that it would be alright, that she knew the court better than anyone and knew they would surrender if their lives were on the line. However before she could, Nelle walked up from behind her to stand shoulder to shoulder and announced to the crowd.

“It’s a terrifying thought relying on people ya think won’t have your back, I know. And while I haven't been around this palace for as long as most of you, I know how disillusioned the people are with the Diamonds. I’m sure you all know this well-- they have hurt many of us, and we are united in that. Should we offer a way out, there are many who would join us.”

Nodding at the clown’s words, Penelope added, “We need all the help we can get. The Diamonds are the enemy, not our fellow people.”

Whispers continued to reverberate through the crowd, however no one made their disagreement known.

Letting the people have sometime to think through her words, the ex-pearl paused for a couple minutes before asking the crowd.

“Of course that does not mean there will be no fighting, or no people irrevocably loyal to the crown-- those who will need to be subdued if we are to be successful. Which means that I need to know who among you is capable of holding their own in a fight. If I may, can all of those who have any sort of combat training please step forward?”

Chatter in the crowd picked up once again before a few figures began to push their way to the front, standing in front of Penelope. A familiar gloved hand belonging to her clown gave her one last comforting grip before it’s owner took a couple steps forward to stand with the rest of the fighting capable prisoners.

The ex-pearl looked over the few who were gathered in the front. There were less of them then she would have guessed, perhaps only a tenth of all those in the dungeons. Ex-guards, mercenaries, and even a couple ex-military officers stood in front of her.

“Alright, getting you all weapons is the priority,” She announced, “If this coup is to be successful then you will be the crux of our plan.”

The gathered crowd nodded and mumbled words of agreement before one of them spoke up with a question that Penelope was surprised she hadn't even thought about.

“And what will we do with the Diamonds?”

The dungeons went quiet as the ex-pearl realized she had no idea what to do with the Diamonds. Working under them her entire life, she knew that they wouldn't surrender. Even if all looked hopeless White would probably try and retreat to consolidate her forces for later.

But… they couldn’t kill them… could they?

Soon the room was filled again with argument-- some saying that they could not possibly harm the Diamonds, while others insisted that it was necessary for their endeavor to be successful.

Looking back over the crowd her gaze met the jester’s-- Nelle appeared excited and it was not hard to imagine what her preferences were. The bloodlust in her eyes rang out just as loudly as any of the other prisoners’ voices. She, along with a small vocal minority of the crowd, looked nothing but ready to end the matriarchs of their empire forever.

Penny’s mouth formed into a grimace as she took in the scene in front of her. She wanted them all to be free, of course, but did that mean that they would have to kill the Diamonds? Was that the cost she had to pay for their freedom?

Feeling suddenly very lightheaded, she was immensely thankful for her ability to keep a straight face when speaking to a crowd. But even with all of her experience the reality she was stuck in was rapidly becoming too much to bare.

If it weren’t for another prisoner speaking up, gaining everyone else’s attention, Penelope was sure that she was going to be completely overwhelmed.

“There is another option!”

The voice, while not as loud as some of the other arguments around her, was calm, collected and stern enough to direct everyone's attention to its owner.

The speaker, a woman Penelope recognized to have been in a couple cells across from her when she was in prison began to walk up to the front of the crowd.

She was an imprisoned ex-noble, one who was sentenced without trial for her supposed improper relationship with one of her guards. Scanning the crowd, the Penny searched for this supposed guard, but found the noble not accompanied by anyone.

The noble woman stood still as all gazes traveled to her-- her long hair matted and covering her eyes, making it impossible to read her expression.

“Many of us were imprisoned to prove a point. To be made examples of to the rest of the court, and kingdom. If we truly want retribution we shouldn’t execute the Diamonds, no. We should let them experience what we all have-- make them our prisoners. I suggest that we lock them down here, give them a taste of what we have all been through, and later, once the immediate conflict is over, we can decide what to do with them.”

Penelope tried not to her relief shine too clearly on her face when the rest of the crowd cheered at the suggestion.

Nelle on the other hand appeared less than pleased at this turn of events-- looking upon those making a ruckus around her with a furrow in her brow. Yet, despite her clear displeasure, she said nothing.

Penelope, taking control of the crowd once more, thanked the noble woman for her suggestion and detailed the new plan for all of them to hear. They were to break into the armory and get all of those who were combat trained the necessary weaponry and armor to hold their own. Those that were completely unable to fight were to stay in the dungeons to look after all of those that were captured or surrendered.

All of her time serving under White, there was one thing she most certainly learned from her militant mistress.

If you control the battlefield then you will win the war. And there was no one in this castle that knew the palace ground more than her. She was confident in her ability to direct everyone to the places they needed to be to win.

Taking just Nelle, and a few other of the fighting ready prisoners with her, Penny was prepared to enact her plan.

They were able to stealth out of the prisons and began their trek to the armory. Penelope knew all of the routes that they would take to avoid sentries and was able to successfully sneak them all to their destination. Once near the armory, they knocked out all of the seven guards who were stationed there. waiting patiently until they could pick them off one by one and send them back to the prisons.

After the guards were successfully taken care of, they all rushed inside, and It wasn’t long before Penelope’s team were armed up and ready for anything.

Looking upon the prisoners, now freed of their tattered gounds, wearing armor they had stolen, Penelope could barely even recognize them as prisoners anymore, and to be honest, she supposed their weren’t-- they were revolutionaries.

Grabbing a piece of parchment, quill, and ink, she drew out a slightly sloppy, but highly accurate map of the palace grounds. She separated her allies into two groups-- those she was going to send out, and those who would stay with her and hold down the armory.

Armed with her intimate knowledge of the castle grounds, she educated all those who were going out into the field about all of the barely used and even secret passages in the castle. If they could pull it off, they would be able to pop in and out of almost every space they needed to without drawing much attention to themselves. So the plan was as follows; they would take out the other populated guard outposts without alerting the rest of the castle, and by the time the Diamonds caught on, it would be too late.

For those staying, they were to hold down the armory with her. She planned to send a messenger down to the dungeons to bring up the other combat prepared prisoners up in groups of ten, as to not bring much attention to themselves. Once they reached the armory, depending on their skills, they would be armed and either sent out to other key outposts of the castle, or stay with Penelope, slowly building up the armory’s defenses. If they could stop all the castle guards from even reaching the armory once the fighting broke out in full, then they would continue to hold an advantage with weaponry.

Of course that did not account for the people who kept their weapons with them in their quarters, but at least it would limit the amount of people who had access to them.

The key to this plan was to be stealthy, and with that in mind, her allies slinked out of the armory doors.

Once the first wave went off, Penelope finally let the stress she was feeling show through to her face. Noticing her worry, the jester, who had refused to leave her side even once since they began to enact her plan, reached down to give her hand a comforting grip.

Meeting those magenta eyes, the ex-pearl allowed a smile to grace her features before refocusing on the matter at hand and ordering everyone staying behind to the entrances of the armory.

For her messenger, she picked out what she gathered to be the stealthiest member of their entourage and sent him back down to the dungeons to gather the next batch of prisoners in need of a makeover.

Soon the next group of ten made it to the armory, and the ten after that, and the ten after that.

It was only after she deployed more than half of the combat ready prisoner that she heard a familiar horn being played from within the castle-- the alarm of an invasion.

Well, the Diamonds had certainly noticed their plan sooner than she thought that they would, but even still, they were much too late.

Turning back to her messenger, who just dropped off another ten in the armory, she asked him to forgo stealth and bring the rest of everyone who was willing to fight so they could make their stand.

The messenger nodded before setting off.

The others in the room, hearing what just happened, looked to her for further instruction, which she so quickly provided.

“The Diamonds know we are here now, which means our next step is to evacuate the civilians-- I am going to need some of you to go to the staff quarters and let them know what’s going on before the authority can taint their minds with lies. We need to tell them that should they want to avoid conflict, they will need to leave the palace grounds now, despite what everyone else will tell them. And maybe, if we’re lucky, some of them will even want to join us.”

The armory crew nodded at that before deciding among themselves who would stay with her and who would go out to the staff quarters.

While this discussion was going on, Penelope’s gaze shifted to meet her clown’s.

Nelle looked back at her, smile on her face, “Looks like yer plan is really coming together-- the Diamond’s truly won’t know what hit ‘em.”

As much as she knew it wasn’t what either of them wanted, Penny’s hand clasped softly on the jesters shoulder before she said, “Nelle I’m going to need you to be a part of the group going to the staff quarters.”

“What!?” the clown protested incredulously, “But, we’re finally together again! Ya want to split up now?”

Shaking her head softly the ex-pearl responded. “I know how you feel, but you are one of the best fighters that we have and if we want to prevent as many casualties as possible then I need you to be in the staff quarters. Should fighting break out there, I know I can trust you to take care of things..”

“I’m not complaining about fighting toots, I’m always ready to fight. But, what about you? I can’t leave you here alone! What if something happened to you, what if--”

Penelope interrupted her, trying not to let this argument spiral out of control. “I’ll be fine, I know what I’m doing.”

The clown posture stiffened before saying, “I’m not doubting you doll, you are the smartest person I know, I’m just worried is all. Maybe there’s another way.”

Penny simply shook her head, she couldn't let her affections for the clown cloud her judgement, especially as she knew they had an audience.

“I understand you are worried for me, but if we want this plan to be successful then we all need to play our part.”

She expected more protests, for the jester to insist to stay behind. Instead what happened was much, much worse.

The clown narrowed her eyes, her lips pressed tightly closed. Penelope recognized that look, it was the one she saw on almost the entirety of the court whenever White was speaking to them-- whenever she herself was speaking to them in White’s place.

Without another word the clown nodded and turned her back on her to leave. Penelope wanted so desperately to call to her-- to apologize. But with all the other prisoner’s eyes on her she stayed silent and instead watched the joker catch up with the others who were leaving towards the quarters. She closed her eyes for a couple seconds before readying herself for the next group of prisoners en route to the armory.

The next hour ticked by as Penelope’s defenses managed to hold up to all attacks, and the battle for the castle began in full.

She saw many an enemy and ally fall in battle and every time she averted her gaze-- she did not like to watch anyone else suffer, and the battle in front of her was truly taking its toll. This was it, their final stand and she needed to give it everything she had, she owed at least that much to the others fighting alongside her… to Nelle.

With no way of getting weapons, the castle forces soon realized they were outwitted, and Penelope’s allies were finally able to go on the offensive-- getting them to surrender and escorting them down to the dungeons where they were to be locked up.

Now that the guards were retreating and being rounded up, the ex-pearl knew it was time to enact the final stages of her plan, if they truly wanted this battle to be their final stand against the empire then there was one thing they absolutely needed to do-- they needed to capture the Diamonds.

Yellow and Blue were proud and esteemed fighters in their own right, there would be no doubt that they would be on the battlefield fighting with their guards, but White? Well she was a true tactician, one that conquered many lands and knew when to retreat. Once she understood the tide of the battle was turning she would try and flee from the palace grounds, and that was something that Penelope had to prevent. White was the Empress, if they failed to capture her, she would recruit allies elsewhere and all their struggles would be for not.

She needed to act now, before her ex-mistress realized their victory.

Gathering what few allies she could find, she ordered them to follow her, as she finally exited the armory.

Penelope walked among the conflict, dodging miscellaneous small skirmishes, her goal clear in her mind. A few of the combat savvy prisoners accompanying her as they warded off anyone who tried to intervene.

Passing by numerous bodies and injured she pressed on, trying her best to ignore all of the chaos until a familiar voice called out from behind her

“Wait!”

Penelope turned and saw the ex-noble woman from the dungeons running towards her at full speed. She barely had enough time to wonder why someone with absolutely no combat training, who should have been staying in the dungeons looking after the captives, was risking everything to be out in the battle field, before the woman reached her.

“You’re going to White’s chambers correct?” she asked in a clear and steadied voice, as if she had not just spent the last few moments sprinting towards her.

Taken slightly off guard Penelope nodded, “Yes… was there something you needed?”

The ex-noble nodded before saying, “I’ll be coming with you then.”

The chamberlain was going to argue, to insist that she stay where it was safe. But the way that the other woman stood, the resolve that she emanated, led Penny to believe that she was probably not going to be able to convince her otherwise. Considering it would be a bit hypocritical to say no when she herself was not at all combat trained she just nodded.

Now accompanied by one more prisoner than she had initially expected, she soon found herself in front of her targeted room.

White’s room.

A massive stronghold of guards were posted in front of the Empress’s chambers, much more than Penelope had been expecting. Recognizing their uniform as belonging to that of the Empress’s personal guard, Penelope knew them to be highly trained and incredibly loyal to the crown. She had seen them fight many a time before and even just the memory of their ferocity was enough to make her begin the sweat.

The guards stood their ground at the prisoners’ approach, starting down the invading force, daring them to try and pass. They firmly raised their weapons just as Penelope’s company stood in front of the ex-noblewoman, shielding her from the conflict that was surely going to take place.

Taking a step forward, the ex-pearl gestured for her allies to wait a second. Despite these guards clearly willing to fight till the very end, she at least wanted to try to make peace. While there were fewer of them than Penelope’s allies, they were all armed and Penelope knew the damage that this particular group could do. If she didn’t intervene there would surely be a bloodbath.

“It’s alright,” She spoke to the guards, trying her best to talk them down.

“We don’t want to hurt you, we don’t even want to hurt the Empress.” she explained shuffling closer with each word. “Please just stand down and we can all avoid injury..”

However instead of those words providing them with comfort, the guard’s looked unconvinced and tightened their grip on their weapons even more.

The center guard, who seemed much higher ranked than the others, took a step towards her and said. “You don’t understand, we don’t have a choice,” she called before raising her weapon. “White has people we care about under her thumb, if you pass us, she will execute them.” the guard announced conflict displayed clearly in her eyes-- she obviously did not want to fight, and it looked as if neither did the people behind.

“White won’t be able to give any orders once we lock her away!” one of the prisoners called.

The guard shook her head sadly before relying, “I’m afraid we can’t take that risk.”

Penelope could almost feel her heart break at those words. These guards were doing this to protect people they cared about, and unfortunately Penelope could relate and knew that meant that they were not going to surrender no matter what.

Taking a couple steps back into her group of prisoners she prepared herself for bloodshed before she heard that same noble from before calling for them to let her through.

The head guard the ex-pearl had been speaking to froze as all eyes drew to the noble, who had finally pushed her way past the prisoners that were trying to keep her in the back. Finally breaking free from the line, she hurried past Penny and straight for the line of guards protecting White-- straight for the center guard they had been conversing with.

Penelope panicked, her mind flooding with horrible images of this noble getting skewered by the many swords of the guards, however what proceeded to happen was further than anything Penelope imagined.

The guard gasped and immediately dropped her weapon, before breaking into a run to meet the noble halfway. The ex-pearl thought she even saw the guard shedding a couple tears before being the noble into an embrace.

“Ruby!” the noble called her arms tightening around the guard before pulling back and kissing away the tears of the other woman.

The guard, or Ruby, as the noble called her laughed before picking up the ex-prisoner. Holding her bridal style the two began to twirl around each other almost as if they had forgotten there were onlookers. Soon their combined laughter drowned out every other sound around them as the two opposing parties watched in bewilderment.

Eventually the guard set the noble down and asked her. “How are you here Sapphire? How’d you get out of the dungeons?”

The noble smiled before gesturing to Penelope and the other prisoners. “We are all from the dungeons. White’s Pearl let us all out.” she explained gesturing to Penelope.

“You’re from the dungeons?!” One of the other guards behind Ruby asked. “Have you seen my husband?”

And as soon as one of the guards asked that so did all the others, all speaking up asking about their spouses, parents, friends, and even children.

“Yes,” Sapphire responded looking at the rest of the guards, “All those who couldn’t fight are safe, come with us and we will reunite you!”

And with that all whispers broke out among the guards as they one by one lowered and sheathed their weapons.

Penelope could not help but let a small smile graced her face as she saw the guards go from confrontational to cautiously hopeful.

Sapphire along with Ruby lead the guards past Penelope and the prisoners accompanying her.

Meeting her eyes as they past, the ex-noble smiled at her and mouthed a quiet, “Thank you.”

Momentarily stunned, Penny watched the couple and the other guards exit the scene, leaving the door to White chambers completely unguarded. However soon red hot anger began to flood through her as she turned her attention back to the door. White’s personal guard had not been convinced to serve her which such fervor, they were all blackmailed to do so. The Empress had convinced her last line of defense that if they gave her up, all of their loved ones would be executed. For someone who talked a big game about her accomplishments, about all of the people who would be willing to fight to the death for her, she was nothing more than a cruel woman who exploited people's vulnerabilities protect herself against them.

Not that this was news to the ex-pearl, she had spent her entire life under White’s cruelty in some way or another, and yet for the longest time she believed she was the only one, that she was the problem.

But here she was surrounded by others who had suffered just as much as her, who were just trying to live their lives and protect those that they cared about, and in that moment, she truly understood how much power their wielded.

Seeing that couple reunite, just as she and and Nelle had, just as she was sure all of those other guards would once they reached the dungeons was enough to chase all remaining fear from her mind. White was nothing without fear.

Steeling herself, she turned back towards the unguarded door, and without wasting anymore time, strode forward to take hold of the knob.

On the other side she was greeted by the woman that she had lived in terror of for as long as she could remember.

White Diamond stood facing away, eyeline scanning out her window, surely taking in the many skirmishes below. At the sound of her door opening she turned her gaze towards the intruder to spot Penelope step through the threshold followed by her many, many allies.

“W..Why Penelope,” White began as her initial note of fear was quickly smothered by her usual steady tone. “I’m glad you are here. Quickly, we will need to leave the palace.”

Penny did not know if White earnestly believed her to have come to save her, or if she was well aware of what was going on and was just trying to hold onto the last thread of hope that she could. But judging by the way the elder woman was hesitantly looking back and forth at the prisoners behind her, the chamberlain guessed it was the later.

Crossing her arms, she made no movement towards the other woman, opting to glare before saying. “White Diamond, by the power vested in me by the citizens of your kingdom, we hear by place you under arrest for crimes against the empire.”

“Come now starlight,” White answered, still not letting this turn of events affect her presentation of sophistication in the slightest. “You don’t want to do this, think of everything you’d be giving up, your new position as my chamberlain, all of the hard work you put in to ingratiate yourself. It’s time to stop playing pretend revolutionary and put an end to this buffoonery.”

Penelope had to resist letting out a cold laugh at the sheer inanity of what the elder was saying. “No one here is playing anything except for you. And I’m sorry to say that your game is now over.”

And without any further words, she gestured for her allies to close in on the Empress.

Of course White did not go down without a fight-- she struggled and insulted all those who came near her, telling them they would be executed for laying a finger on her, that despite everything she was still their Empress. A sentiment which clearly was not getting her very far.

She was in shackles in moments and the rest of the prisoners cheered and congratulated each other for a job well done.

Penelope stood her ground as the other prisoners dragged White towards the door. Reaching out to hold it open for her allies, the ex-pearl gazed upon her old mistress. Knowing this may be the very last time she was going to speak directly with the other she said.

“I hope your time in the dungeons helps you reflect on all you have done.”

And with that the other prisoners saluted her, clearly understanding that she would need some time to process before exiting with their captive leaving her alone in the room of the woman she used to serve.

Once the door was closed behind her, Penelope almost felt herself come undone under the emotional pressure of that last interaction. Catching herself on the wall, she slowly made her way to one of White’s couches and sat down.

Reaching to her neck, she gently pulled off her Chamberlain chains and haphazardly tossed them to the floor. She desired chamberlaincy as much as she wanted to be a pearl, and so it was nothing but a relief to finally be rid of the extra weight.

Looking out the large windows, she spotted small skirmishes below between the last remaining loyal guards and the revolutionaries, and it did not take an expert to see that they were winning.

The few stragglers still fighting were being rounded up, placed in chains, and escorted to the dungeons. And despite there clearly being casualties, it seemed her group was trying their best to capture the enemy alive, and Penelope couldn’t be more relieved.

Closing her eyes, she knew she would have to soon go and check up on all of her allies, but for now she just wanted a moment of silence.

After almost half an hour, she finally exited the room to notice that the halls were empty, the sounds of fighting dying down until there was nothing but an eerie quiet in its place. Making her way back to the one place she knew everyone would congregate once this was all over, she walked towards the dungeons.

She could hear the celebrations before she even made her way down the rest of the stairs.

Once she arrived at the bottom she was treated to the sight of all the prisoners laughing and dancing. It seemed as if someone had raided some of the smaller barrels from the wine cellar and cracked them open, as the scent of alcohol filled her nostrils.

People were reuniting with their loved ones, finishing putting the last of the palace guards away in the newly emptied cells, and tending to each other’s wounds.

One of the prisoners noticed her arrival and drunkenly cheered, soon many others turned to join in, showing her with praise and affection.

Not at all used to such positive attention, Penelope felt herself blush as she tried to disappear into the crowd with not much success. Several people came up to personally thank her for everything she had done. Trying her best to be polite, she engaged them in brief conversation before maneuvering her way onto the makeshift dance floor, spotting a few familiar faces.

The blacksmith boisterously lifting people in display of her strength, while others cheered her on. Some of the lower ranking nobles she recognized from her time managing the court, letting go of their refined personas as they mingled with the crowd. She even spotted Ruby and Sapphire, dancing, laughing, and staring into each other's eyes as if nothing else mattered.

Seeing the two of them made Penelope smile, but even more than that, it made her want to find the one person she wanted to reunite with more than anything. She and Nelle had not left things on the best terms. From her clear displeasure at Penny endorsing Sapphire’s request to not kill the Diamonds, to their small dispute in the armory-- the ex-pearl just wanted things to be alright between them so that they could celebrate their victory.

Scanning the crowd, she searched for any trace of that bright pink jester’s hat, but to her disappointment found nothing. A million thoughts filled her head, as all of a sudden the celebrations around her made her feel incredibly claustrophobic.

Where was Nelle? Why wasn’t she here? Did she get hurt?

Panic beginning to curl around her throat, she more desperately looked around. Finding no clown among the prisoners, she turned her attention to the cells, looking into them in the small chance that Nelle had decided to get away from the crowd.

She searched but found not joker, instead she finding something else.

At the far back of the dungeons, past all of the other locked away guards, she saw a large cell containing the Diamonds.

Or... well, three of the Diamonds.

White, Blue, and Yellow briefly looked her over before averting their gazes as Penny felt a lump form in her throat.

Pink Diamond wasn’t among them… which meant….

Eye widening, Penelope pushed her way past all of the party goers and ascended the stairs of the dungeons with a swiftness she hadn't felt since she was trying to stop the poisoning.

A few people, notably both Ruby and Sapphire, called out to her asking where she was going in such a hurry. But she did not even spare them a second as she reached the top of the stairs and broke into a full run.

_No, no, no, no-- she wouldn’t! Would she?_ It was true that the joker appeared quite vexed at the announcement that they would not be killing the Diamonds, but would she truly disobey the collective and go after her anyway?

Hoping this didn’t mean what she thought it meant, Penelope rushed past all of the now empty hall of the palace towards the only place her clown could be, hoping beyond hope that she was wrong.

She didn’t stop until she found herself right before Pink’s room, voices trailing out from beneath the gap at the bottom of the door. Flinging it open, she was greeted with a scene right out of her worst fears.

If it were any other Diamond, it might have been less jarring. Yellow, Blue and White had been nothing but cruel to her since she before she was even a pearl-- but Pink? Pink, once upon a time had been her friend.

Seeing her with a blade to her throat, panic so palpable in her eyes, Penelope became painfully aware of just how young the princess still was.

How young all three of them still where.

And there was Nelle, on the precipice of everything she had come to the castle for, staring back at her in surprise, looking just as lost as she did when she showed up on the ex-pearls doorstep in the middle of the night. It was obvious that the clown hadn't expected an audience for this execution.

The right side of her jester’s outfit was soaked in blood and while Penelope thought for a moment that it was from some injury inflicted upon the princess, upon closer inspection she realize that the source of the blood seemed to be from the joker herself.

From her posture, the way she was favoring her un-bloody side, it seemed as if she was barely able to keep herself upright from a wound inflicted upon her during the battle.

And from the sheer amount of blood coating her clothes, she must have been just managing to stay upright through pure adrenaline.

Momentarily stunned by Penny’s abrupt entrance, two other women froze, both gazes meeting hers for what felt like an eternity before Pink broke the silence.

“Penelope!” Pink screamed as she struggled against her captor with a newfound vigor. “Please help! She’s trying to kill me!”

Nelle grimaced from what appeared to be a combination of pain and exasperation that her plan was not going as intended. However despite that, she still held the struggling princess in a tight grip, not willing to let go of her prey.

Stunned by the sight, the ex-pearl felt herself rooted to her spot, still starting at Nelle on the opposite side of the room. Not taking her eyes off the clown for a second, she felt her lips purse into a firm line before saying.

“Nelle, let her go.”

And every so slowly, the ex-pearl began to walk towards the two.

It was then that whatever was causing the clown to say still vanished, her face grew more hardened as she pressed the blade lightly into the skin of the princess’s neck drawing a couple drops of blood.

Pink looked like she wanted to scream but held it in-- closing her eyes in fear, tears began to stream from her shut eyelids.

Penelope immediately stopped, not wanting to drive the blade deeper. However she refused to cave, she knew there was really nothing she could do to stop the clown from going through with it if she really wanted to, but that did not mean she wasn't going to keep trying.

“Nelle,” she continued, “The rest of the Diamonds have been captured, let the others deal with Pink, we don’t have to be involved any longer. The battle is over.”

Nelle wavered, conflict dancing so tangibly in her eyes, as she seemed to fight against herself. There was pain there, the type of pain that breaks people down and turns them into something much more unstable and dangerous, but there was also something else.

Exhaustion outlined every tiny moment the clown made-- as if she were struggling to even just remain conscious, her wound continuing to zap her energy. She looked like she did not even truly want to be there, as if she was as much a prisoner to what was going on as everyone else in the room.

“We’ve done it, we’ve already won. This--” the ex-pearl paused to gesture at the scene in front of her. “--is not going to resolve anything. Put the sickle down-- you are the only one here who can stop this.”

The dreary jester didn’t move, but from the way her swirling eyes seemed to pacify with the rest of her body, Penny knew she was getting through to her. And so she began to slowly move forward once more, hands out in an open display of peace.

_They were going to be ok,  
_

_They were going to be ok,_

_They were going to be ok,_

Penelope mentally repeated several times to herself as she ever so slowly continued her trek towards the joker. They would survive this-- Nelle would let the Diamond go and the two of them could just leave, and start a new life somewhere else, far from castles and expectations. All she needed to do was get the sickle from Nelle and everything would fall into place.

But of course, things were never that easy, as right when Penelope managed to sidle halfway towards her target, Pink once again spoke up.

“S...she’s right.” Pink added between her barely concealed sobs of fear. “Please… Nelle, was it? Please don’t kill me.”

Nelle’s gaze left Penelope’s almost immediately at that comment, fury once more growing in her posture.

“Nelle was it?” she repeated the Diamonds words, “NELLE WAS IT!?” She screamed as she grabbed the Diamond by her hair, causing the princess to squeal out in pain before throwing her to the ground.

“After all this, you still don’t remember me!?!” she seethed, moving towards the princess now on the floor.

Pink flinched at the sudden toss, bringing her hands up to her face in an attempt to shield herself from whatever attack was surely next, as her legs kicked furiously under herself to frantically move away from the encroaching fool.

Penelope, terrified at the sudden violence took several steps back, her hand coming to her mouth as she watched the scene progress. This was not was she was expecting at all, it was as if she were back in the ballroom watching Nelle inflict her wrath on all the guards who had been trying to restrain her after the poisoning incident.

But they were not in a room with guards to stop the clown. As the scene drew closer and closer to where she was standing, Nelle yelling about the injustices done to her and Pink continuing to back up, Penny realized that the only person here to stop this was her.

So when the princess got the point where she was almost right in front of the ex-pearl. Penelope did the only thing she knew to do in the moment-- she swiftly maneuvered in front for the retreating princess, blocking her from the armed clown.

Nelle, so focused on her own emotional turmoil barely noticed the scene moving closer and closer to Penny, and so was visibly surprised when the ex-pearl was suddenly blocking her way. However that surprise rapidly devolved into anger as she frustratedly called out.

“Why are you defending her?!” the clown stated while failing to keep obvious tremors from racking her body. “Have you forgotten what she did to me! What she did to you?! She abandoned us, left us to rot we weren’t of use to her. Are you really trying to protect her after everything she has done?!”

Penelope, despite the almost unbearable emotions trying to force her to run, stood her ground and replied in the sternest voice she could muster,

“I’m not trying to protect her, I’m trying to protect you!”

It was as if Nelle was a raging wildfire that was just doused with an ocean of water, her anger subsiding with a swiftness that was unprecedented.

“W..what?” she squeaked in confusion, the lines of her posture unraveling into something more loose.

“I’m trying to protect you.” she repeated, and she didn’t even need to clarify to see in the other woman's gaze that she understood. That giving into anger wouldn't do anything but drive her deeper into her own anguish. That Penny was trying to prevent her from doing something she would surely regret later.

Nelle looked back at her with a mix of emotions in those swirling eyes-- anger being chased out by increasingly building regret with the slightest tint of hope. It was rare to see the joker in such a vulnerable position.But now her face was uninhibited, free from all of those pressures to disguise herself. And it was in that moment that Penelope realized something.

She imagined that after she had broken the clown out from the dungeons, the other woman would have nothing more to hide, that she could finally relax and learn who she was outside of her vengeance.

And yet the the jester’s desire to continue with her plan proved otherwise-- that there was something so ingrained in who she became over time, that not even a full rebellion against the powers could stop it.

Sighing, she hesitantly lifted a hand to cup the jester’s cheek, the last of her makeup smudged with blood and sweat.

Here, surrounded by Pink’s belongings, the princess eyes on the both of them, it became clear how much they were both still under her shadow, how much they both were still beholden to her. This place was toxic, its poison still finding ways to seep into everything Penelope had tried to build in spite of it… which meant there was really only one option left if they truly wanted to break free

“Let’s go,” she whispered, “let’s leave like we promised. The battle is over, we could just go right now.”

The joker’s exhausted features went slack at the statement, and for a second Penelope thought she might say no. however only a second later she nodded briefly.

Penny was only able to bask in her joy for a moment before she saw the other wince, hand letting go of her weapon, which clambered loudly to the ground. She grasped desperately at her injured side, face contorting in pain.

Penelope was just barely able to reach out and catch the other woman as she almost collapsed to the floor.

Gently bringing the jester down the ground. Penelope, so caught up in the fear that her clown was severely injured, found herself unable to react to what proceeded to happen around her. She vaguely noticed Ruby, Sapphire, and a couple other members of the revolution pour into the empty space around them. They must have been concerned enough by her sudden departure to follow after her, and for that she was quite thankful. Pink, who was still frozen on the floor was apprehended.

A couple others bent down to her level and gently pried Penelope away from her clown with whispers that everything was going to be alright, that they needed to see the extent of the injury.

The next few hours passed in a blur, as those who were medically trained worked on stopping the blood flow and closing the wound the best they could.

For the duration, Penelope’s focus hardly shifted. Stationed just outside the room she worriedly waited for news about Nelle. It was four hours before someone came out to tell her that the joker was stable, and the relief that passed over her almost caused her to faint on the spot.

She rushed over to Nelle’s side and was treated to the sight of the unconscious clown, face pale from the loss of blood. If she ignored looking at the obvious bandages that were covering her lower body, Penelope might even have even said that she looked peaceful.

And despite everything that had happened-- their argument, the revolution, even the extended confrontation with Pink, Penelope had never been more grateful in her entire life.

Steeling herself immediately, she knew what she needed to do. She gave the clown a promise, and now that she had an all clear from the medical professionals-- there was nothing that was going to keep her from fulfilling said promise.

No one questioned her when she asked for a horse drawn carriage, nor was there a delay in getting her the amount of rations and supplies she needed for her journey.

Piling what few personal effects they both still had into the carriage’s storage, she had a couple people help her make a comfortable space in the back where she could lay the clown down to rest.

She knew not what was to happen with the rest of the surviving rebels, the palace, or even the Diamonds-- but to be honest she truly wanted nothing more to do with any of it. Maybe the rebels would appoint a new leader, someone who actually had the best interest of their people in mind. Regardless of whoever ended up taking domain over the empire, she doubted they would concern themselves with bothering them anymore.

And that was all she truly wanted.

So gripping the reins of the horses more firmly she guided them past the palace walls and into the unknown.

……

……

……

……

……

…....

Nelle did not know how long she was unconscious for, but it was almost as if the added force of all of those years of tragedy hit her at once and her body finally decided to give out. She entered a deep sleep filled with dreams.

Dreams of Pink-- of their times together when they were younger and not beholden to the expectations of their respective roles in life.

Dreams of Revenge-- of the deep burning anger that became her default as she struggled against a world indifferent to her.

Dreams of Penelope-- of sweet sad smiles and genteel giggles that filled her with something she hadn't realized she was missing.

Dreams of love… and of loss.

All of it coalesced in her mind, like milk churning butter, seeming almost endless.

But even endless things didn’t last forever.

The thickness of her mind slowly thinned out as she groggily opened her eyes to what looked to be the inside of a carriage, and from the light quaking and the sound of horses trending over dirt, she assumed that it was on the move.

For a brief moment, she considered that maybe it was all a dream-- that maybe she was still in the traveling caravan on her way to the palace.

That was until she attempted to move and was greeted with a sharp pain in her side remind her of her injury.

Wincing, she tried her best to sit up. A collection of bundled cloth, which functioned as blankets slid off of her, as she was greeted to the sight of her torso wrapped in bandages-- a slight trace of red illuminating the site of her injury. Groaning at the pain that continued to seize its way through her, she vaguely noticed a figure that sat several paces ahead at the front of the carriage. Their hands gripping the reins of the horse keeping them on the road.

Penny sat with her back to her, surrounded by what looked to be the light of the rising sun. From the way her figure was slouched, she seemed tired, as if she had been traveling all night.

Nelle closed her eyes, and tried her best to wish her dread away, as the memories of what had happened previously flooded back to her. Opening her eyes she attempted to speak, to say something, to let Penelope know that she was awake. However the words caught in her throat, and she only managed to get one word out.

“Penny?”

The effect was immediate, the figure nearly dropped the reins before pulling them and letting the horses slow to a halt. Before the carriage even came to a complete stop, the ex-pearl turned around.

Her eye was red and puffy with bags gathering underneath it. Yet despite that, the gaze of the woman looking upon her was as unencumbered as the clown had ever seen it before.

Neither knew who took the first step, but they met each other halfway coming together in an unpracticed precision.

The sound of sobs filled the air and Nelle wasn't exactly sure who they belonged to, but regardless, she clung to the other woman like a lifeline whispering apologies over and over.

They remained that way for the longest minutes of Nelle’s life, before Penelope pulled away and brought her lips to kiss the clown’s forehead.

Nelle did not know what she had done in her life to deserve such attention from someone who she was convinced was the most wonderful person in the world.

Bringing her hand to run her fingers along the bags under Penny’s eye, she spoke once more. “How long have we been traveling?”

“All night,” the reply came easily, and from exhaustion in the other’s face, the clown knew she wasn't exaggerating. “I wanted to get us as far away as I could before you woke up.”

Nelle was about to speak up, to lecture the other woman for not taking care of herself, however she was interrupted by a loud growling emanating from Penelope’s stomach.

The ex-pearl flushed an impressive pink, as she clutched her belly with embarrassment.

The jester only smiled before saying, “I think it’s time we take a break, do we have any food in here?”

Penelope nodded and gestured to the back of the carriage. Nelle carefully maneuvered, as to avoid triggering her injury, towards it to find a variety of dried meats and fruits, as well as some fresh veggies and uncooked eggs. While they could just munch on some jerky, the fool also spotted a bunch of cut pieces of wood and had a much better idea.

“Let me cook for you!” she announced.

It had felt like an eternity since she had made the other woman a meal, but after everything that had happened, she felt like it was the absolute least she could do.

People tried to protest, saying that they really should continue moving. But after a swift kiss, admitted that taking a break might be nice.

It wasn’t long before they found a small spot near the side of the road which could support a fire pit. Taking great care to not tear her wound, the clown hopped down from the carriage and began to get to work on making an omelet.

She put her all into it, while Penelope said she would check on the horses.

Once the jester was done, she stood up to proudly to admire her work before moving towards the carriage to let the other know she was finished.

Peeking inside she saw Penny. However, instead of waiting for her eagerly, she saw the ex-pearl curled up in the blankets she had been previously in, fast asleep.

The sight of the sleeping woman, brought a smile to Nelle’s face as she pulled a couple of the blankets over Penny and set the cooked omelet beside her for when she awoke. Penelope certainly deserved rest, and who was she to disturb her?

Sighing happily to herself, she turned her attention back to the campfire. Well as Penny was asleep, she thought she might as well clean up and get them back on the road.

Taking her time gathering most of her cooking materials, she brought them back to the carriage looking for a place to put them, before spotting what looked to be an empty basket. Opening it expecting to find a place to put the pans, but instead saw something else.

A small pink bonnet decorated with blue flowers.

Biting her bottom lip softly, she hesitantly reached for the hat, placing the cooking skillet to the side. The fabric was soft in her hands. Briefly, she wondered what she was going to do with it.

Coming to a decision with an immediacy that even surprised herself, she went back to where she was cooking, gathered the remainder of her belonging, and set out.

She wasn’t sure where exactly they were going-- but supposed that was part of the fun of it. With a smile on her face and warmth in her chest, she steered the horses back on the road.

The smoldering residue of the fire pit stayed stationary as the two women traveled farther and farther away, onward towards the future.

The remains of a single charred blue felt flower, detached from the fabric it used to belong to, glowed in the light of the dying fire.


End file.
